


Journey Part Two- Arcanum

by Charms7116



Series: The Journey Series [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who: Eighth Doctor Adventures - Various Authors, Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Time Lords & Ladies, Eighth Doctor Era, F/M, Jedi, OC Time Lord, Romance, Science Fiction, Space Opera
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:22:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 50,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25763620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charms7116/pseuds/Charms7116
Summary: This is Part Two of Journey.Part Two is taken right after Part One which was New Year's Eve on Saris.The Xanduens, the Eighth Doctor, Tina, and Twins Merlyn and Rastalin leave Saris to continue their search for the Time Rifts they had noticed on Saris.But what is the secret of the Derelict ship they find? What has happened to the Doctors Companion Fitz Kreiner? and what awaits them on Arcanum?Meanwhile Rastalin and Merlyn continue their Journey to become full Adepts and to learn more about their unusual destiny.Part Two is now completed** This is a work of Fanfiction and no infringement of Copyright is intended **** Please note the end of this part  spins off into a story of it's own https://archiveofourown.org/works/26282611(Stranded on Gallifrey which is a stand-alone story about  Merlyn)
Series: The Journey Series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883557





	1. Chapter 1

It was a few days later the Xanaduens had left Saris 4 and were moving out into deeper space heading towards Outpost.  
  
Rastalin and Merlyn were once again in C&C on duty, and both were currently on scanning.  
  
As junior crewmembers and senior Jedai Apprentices they were expected to do a certain amount of Bridge duty, neither of them really minded, they had a good long break and were ready to go back to work.  
  
Merlyn had pretty much recovered from his accident and appeared none the worse for wear because of it, but his world had changed, and he wasn’t able to forget his brush with death.  
  
Captain Senoran was as usual in his command chair, he hadn’t initially set out to be a captain of a starship, but circumstances had thrust him into the role, he still was, at heart an Ambassador and always would be, Zininza sat in the First Officers chair.  
  
“Glad to see you’re all mended Merlyn,” Senoran said.   
  
“Thanks,” said Merlyn.  
  
Senoran said, “getting shot isn’t fun believe me, you acted bravely and with courage though, and in true Jedai style, you may technically still be Senior Apprentices, but I would want you at my back regardless, well done”.  
  
“Thanks, Captain Senoran,” said Merlyn.  
  
The Doctor came onto the bridge; Senoran asked him “what’s up?”  
  
“I was wondering if I could borrow one of your Science stations,” he said.  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Well I am trying to broaden the range on my _Tardis_ for the Time Rift and well it doesn’t seem to be working properly, maybe it is because this isn’t my dimension, maybe I could get a better result if I borrow one of your Science Stations. Tina says that they  
are generally unused if you're just cruising along” he said, “if it is a problem I understand”.  
  
“Oh,” said Sen “no, it’s fine, go ahead”.  
  
“Thank you,” he said, “um, which once is it?”  
  
Sen said, “show him Merlyn”.  
  
“Ok,” said Merlyn getting up and showing him.  
  
“Thanks,” the Doctor said, “do you know how to use it?”  
  
“Yes,” said Merlyn.  
  
“Care to show me?” the Doctor asked.  
  
“Ok,” said Merlyn and did so.  
  
“Quite a talent you got there” the Doctor remmarked to Merlyn, “the ability to interface with computers”.  
  
Merlyn shrugged “I’ve always been able to do it”.  
  
“Nifty talent” the Doctor Remmarked “so where do we go from here?”  
  
Merlyn showed him the workings on the Science station and went back to his scanning station.  
  
“ _Aha_ ,” said the Doctor a few minutes later “got it!” just as a flying disc came flying into the C&C from the corridor, barely missing the Doctor.  
  
Lieutenant Wildfairy walked in, then looking slightly sheepish “Oh sorry Captain Senoran”.  
  
“Careful where you chuck those things, Lieutenant,” Senoran said “you almost hit the Doctor”.  
  
“Pardon?” she asked.  
  
The Doctor looked up “what almost hit me?”  
  
Wildfairy did a double-take as she saw the human man on the bridge with brown hair, amazing blue eyes, fair skin, handsome features clad in a long green frock coat, angel collared shirt and cravat “oh my gosh! Are you who I think you are?”  
  
He beamed at her “I’m the Doctor!” he offered out a hand “I take it your one of the Leaders judging by your garb and the circlet”.  
  
Wildfairy took his hand “my Xanaduen title is Commander Wildfairy, but my Starfleet title is Lieutenant”.  
  
“How do you do then?” he asked.  
  
“What are you doing here?” she asked, “you of all people!”  
  
“I’m afraid I’m a little lost” he admitted.  
  
“You lost!” she asked, “you don’t get lost!”  
  
“So I keep been told” he replied, “but I’m afraid in this case it is absolutely true”.  
  
“By yourself?” she asked.  
  
“Yes very much so,” he said, “something happened, and I ended up here by myself”.  
  
“Oh,” she said.  
  
He shrugged “I am still figuring out how that happened”.  
  
“Welcome aboard then Doctor,” she said “Captain reporting for duty” she went to her place on the bridge.  
  
“Picking up some extraordinary readings captain,” said Merlyn later on.  
  
“From what?” Senoran asked from his chair where he was looking at a star chart, checking their position with Arcanum “T’ron?”  
  
“No Captain,” said Red, “it’s a decaying orbit pattern of what appears to be some type of ship near that moon we’re heading to” Red was sitting next to Merlyn on scanning, as Rast had been put on Ops.  
  
“On-screen” Sen ordered, all Captain at the moment, she did so the screen opened to reveal basically just an ice ball, they hadn’t been taking a lot of notice of it, it was Xansis one of the moons of Xarn one of the planets on their way to Arcanum.  
  
They had probably only picked up the orbit because X was doing one of her routine scans, Xansis was pretty useless, a ball made of rock and ice and not much else.  
  
“Magnify,” said Senoran.  
  
When they were done, they found themselves looking at a large ship just drifting there.  
  
“What are we looking at here, X?” Senoran asked the ship.  
  
“ _One of ours_ ” she replied, “ _but experimental, its tag marks it as the ‘ **INTREPID**_ ’ “.   
  
“The _Intrepid_ ” Senoran mused “didn’t that vanish like 50 or 60 years ago without a trace?”  
  
“ _Yes, Senoran_ ” she replied, “ _it looks like it hasn’t been here that long though_ ”.  
  
“What was that moons name again?” Sen asked.  
  
“ _Xansis it is just a huge ice-ball with no valuable resources there is no life on it as well, and Xarn the planet is not much better; it’s mainly barren and rocky_ ”. She replied.   
  
“What’s the _ **Intrepid**_ doing here then? And where has she been for the last 50 or 60 years?” Senoran wondered.  
  
“ _I can’t tell you that, it may have been that she’s just drifted here_ ” X replied.  
  
“What’s her condition?” Sen asked.  
  
“ _Hull appears to be intact, it’s probably as cold as a tomb inside, and there is no gravity, I can’t pick up life signs either, nothing I recognise at least, but there appears to be some life, but I can’t figure out whether it’s the ship or something inside it_ , _although nothing could really live inside_ ”.  
  
“Save maybe us,” said Casamir from where he was operating a communications station.  
  
“Or the T’ron” Senoran added.  
  
“Agreed,,” said Casamir.  
  
Senoran nodded “is **_anyone_** picking up _anything_ from that ship?” this was aimed, the Doctor knew at any of the other Jedai on the bridge, out of curiosity he used the Science Station he was at to run his own separate scan himself, frowning at the results.  
  
There were quite a few Jedai on the bridge at the moment, Senoran and Zininza, Casamir, Rastalin and Merlyn, Ashan, and the counsellor who although not a Jedai was empathic and sensitive, it was Sen’s wife Merilyneea and one Time Lord.  
  
“Nothing,” said Meri “it feels weird, more or less dead, I can feel traces of life, but I can’t work out whether it’s the ship or not.”  
  
Senoran expanded his own senses and said: “ _Hmm_ your right, Ok I reckon it is worth a look then, CAW’s been looking for this ship for ages.”  
  
“Is that wise?” the Doctor asked.  
  
Sen had forgotten he was there and said “sorry Doctor I forgot you were still here” he paused “as in answer to your question, probably not, but CAW would approve if we took a look. _The Intrepid_ was experimental; it was designed to make its own black holes  
and to fold space around it, something went wrong though, and she vanished without a trace. CAW would like to know what; we’ll go over to have a look-see”.  
  
Zinz nodded “yes”.  
  
Senoran said, “ok we’ll arrange an away team, made up of the following personnel and I want at least one Jedai on the team”.  
  
“I’ll go” Ashan automatically volunteered, he bore the rank Lieutenant Grade one so he was well within his rights to do so.  
  
“We’ll also need a Technician sort, an engineer, one Medical officer and at least one security person and a Techbot” Sen continued.  
  
Merlyn spoke then “I could go as both Technician and Jedai if you like, I know I’m just an Ensign, but I am also a Senior Apprentice”.  
  
Casamir nodded in approval “good idea Merlyn, Ashan take Merlyn with you, you know how good he is with machines”.  
  
“Very well, Master Casamir.”  
  
“I’ll go as the engineer,” said Gorinda, who was repairing one of the consoles on the bridge.   
  
“Are you sure you’re up to it?” Sen asked, Gorinda was an able technician and engineer, but he was also mentally unstable at times.  
  
“I haven’t had a lapse for months! I’m up for it” he said his mental instability and illness sometimes limited his duties, but, he was an able engineer and one of Rasscerain’s main men.  
  
“I’ll go as Medic,” said Zalaz.  
  
“Very well,” said Senoran.  
  
“I’ll go as Security” Red said.  
  
“I’ll go as the other one,” said Xena, the Darksider turned Lightsider.  
  
“OK,” said Senoran “One Techbot should complete the away team”.  
  
“Actually,” said a voice “I would like to go as well, if you don’t mind, I can hold my own in a fight, and I am also good with technology” it was Tina who had come up looking for the Doctor.  
  
“Tina if you’re sure,” said Senoran.  
  
“I’m sure,” she said, “I would also like to take the Doctor with me”.  
  
“ _Me_?” he asked.  
  
“You're _also_ a Time Lord, you can also hold your own. Besides, I think you need to see this” she said.  
  
The Doctor nodded “I am curious yes”.  
  
“Very well then,” said Senoran.  
  
“Thank you,” both said.  
  
“Well ok, _the more, the merrier_ ,” said Senoran “that has always been the Dorenganzan theory, which is probably why noone takes us seriously”.   
  
“Thank you,” the Doctor said, “now _where_ did I put my sonic screwdriver?”  
  
“We are going to have to wear suits I insist,” said Zalaz “Until I decide it is safe not too, we may be immortal or nearly so, but we are not invulnerable who knows where the intrepid has been and what it has bought back?”  
  
“Fair enough,” said Sen.  
  
“Do you Jedai know how to use suits?”  
  
“We do,” said Casamir.  
  
“Ok,” said Zalaz “how about you, Time Lords?” they both nodded.  
  
“But can you find ones for us?” the Doctor asked.  
  
“Most Dorenganza take the humanoid form,” said Zalaz “so yeah we’ll take a Techbot as well it might come in handy”.   
  
“How about this?” Tina asked, indicating her pet Cybermat she had reprogrammed it and called it Fido.  
  
The Doctors eyes widened when he saw it than he frowned it looked familiar, but he couldn’t remember why.  
  
“Ok bring your Cybermat,” said Zalaz, he said to the Doctor, “we don’t rely so heavily on droids here, there is nothing wrong with Droids though, most of our ships are AI-equipped and these little guys” he indicated the Techbot “are also AI-equipped”.  
  
“Interesting,” the Doctor said.  
  
“Ok suit up everybody, whose going on the away team” Zalaz ordered, “we may be near-immortal, but this ship has been missing for years, who knows where it has been”.  
  
The Doctor followed the rest of the team and asked Zalaz “does this happen often? A ship goes missing then mysteriously turns up years later?”  
  
“Not always,” Zalaz said, “we’re probably looking at a wreck here though”.  
  
“The Captain doesn’t seem to think so,” said the Doctor.  
  
“Senoran’s not taking chances, nor am I, as Medico, it’s my job to make sure everyone is ok, we’ll find a suit to fit you”.  
  
Merlyn nodded ‘suit feels strange though”.  
  
Zalaz said “you Jedai!”  
  
“You have a problem with the Jedai?” Ashan asked.  
  
“No, I don’t! It’s just that _sometimes_ you’re mystical values get in the way of safety procedures and the truth”.  
  
“Interesting reason” the Doctor remmarked “not unexpected though”.  
  
“Most of us are too chaotic to achieve the disciplines,” Ashan said, “only a few of us are”.  
  
Zalaz nodded “the lad speaks true” he went to the airlock, looking through the suits ‘this should fit your Doctor, I’ll give you a hand in a moment to adjust it to your physiology “.  
  
“I _do_ have _two_ hearts you know” the Doctor remmarked.  
  
“So does Tina and the twins,” he said adjusting Merlyn’s “take it easy Merlyn you’re still recovering”.  
  
“I’m _fine_!” Merlyn insisted.   
  
“It’s Ok,” said the Doctor, “I think I’ve worked it out,” he’d gotten into his “so how are we going to get across to the _Intrepid_?”  
  
“Walking,” said Zalaz checking his suit ‘your clearly done this before” he continued ‘the _Intrepid_ has several airlocks which we can attach to, and we go across that way, your suits are equipped with mag boots, so we should be able to walk around until the  
gravity is fixed and life support reinstated, until then suits it is” he started to hand everyone a Phaser.  
  
The Doctor shook his head “I don’t like guns, no thanks”.   
  
“Ok very well’ said Zalaz “I don’t like them much either, I’m a Doctor, not a soldier”.  
  
Ashan looked thoughtfully at the gun, took it and finished with his suit ‘you're in charge Zalaz” he said, the Doctor also noted that Merlyn had turned the gun down, Tina, however, didn’t, the Doctor was beginning to like Merlyn more and more.  
  
“Actually I was under the impression you Jedai were in charge,” Zalaz said.  
  
“You’re Medico, and you outrank both Merlyn and me, Senoran put me in charge of Merlyn and the Time Lords. _Although_ the Doctor might have something to say about that”.  
  
“ _Your_ Galaxy not mine,” said the Doctor answering the unasked question.  
  
“Fair enough,” said Zalaz “” let’s go then” he opened the airlock.


	2. The Intrepid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The away team go to the Intrepid.  
> And Tina gets told off by the Doctor! and must explain herself! mind you she gets her own back.

  
Tina joined the Doctor and Merlyn as they entered the ‘ ** _INTREPID_** ’, “why did you specifically ask me to come along?” the Doctor asked Tina.  
  
She shrugged “it just seemed to be the right thing to do, you don’t mind, do you?”  
  
“No,” he said tugging on his suit “I hate wearing one of these”.  
  
Merlyn had a scanner out and was looking at the readouts and frowning ‘you know we could probably breathe out here it’s as cold as but life support is on minimum, well I know I could”.  
  
“Most of us could,” said Ashan “Dorenganzan adaptability, so could the two Time Lords with their makeup”.  
  
“There are _more_ than two Time Lords here,” said Tina.  
  
“Pardon,” said Ashan not really listening “I reckon we should just take the risk and take our helmets off, it’s interfering with my connection to the Way. It’s probably affecting Merlyn’s too”.  
  
“It is,” said Merlyn ‘also there is something else”.   
  
“I feel it too,” Ashan said “Sen wants Jedi, so Jedi we shall be” and without further ado, he removed his helmet and took a breath of air “it’s a bit thin and stale, but it is breathable” as he waited for his body to adjust “ _Dorenganza adaptability_ ”.  
  
Zalaz looked scandalized “I told **_noone_** to remove their helmets!”  
  
“Sen wanted Jedai, our helmets were interfering with our connection to the Way,” Ashan said, “Zalaz there is air it is just cold and thin and a bit stale”.  
  
Tina had removed her helm now as had the Doctor; yes it was a bit thin and stale but nothing he couldn’t handle for short periods.  
  
He smiled at Tina “ _the old respiratory bypass_ ” he whispered, smoothing his hair.   
  
“Are you two, OK?” Zalaz asked.  
  
“We’re fine,” said Tina “we’re not human remember? We’re as alien as you are, despite appearances! Stop thinking we’re human”.  
  
The Doctor looked around “we’ll be fine, for a while” he looked around with an almost innocent gaze “my _word_! **Most** intriguing”.  
  
“We should probably find life support so we can fix the air up and everything else before we all freeze to death!” Tina said, “even the Doctor and I aren’t immune, I’m glad none of us is human at the moment, now if I remember rightly the main control room  
is this way!”  
  
“How do you know?” Zalaz asked.  
  
“I helped design this ship!” Tina said.  
  
“You did?” he asked.   
  
“Well, what else is a Time Lady to do, if she is stuck in a dimension not her own!” she asked, “why did you think I specifically asked to come along?”  
  
“You helped design this?” the Doctor asked her.  
  
“Yes!” she said "I'm a Temporal Engineer!"  
  
The Doctor said as he followed Tina up the corridor “then this is more _serious_ than I thought!”  
  
“Huh?” Tina asked.  
  
The Doctor said, “Tina, while I was scanning the ship back on board, I came across some rather _worrying_ results”.  
  
Tina said, “that’s not surprising; it’s been missing for years!”  
  
“That is not what I meant, and you **_know_** it,” the Doctor said the tone in his voice made Tina stop and look at him.  
  
“Doctor I....” she said.  
  
He continued, sounding very much like the Doctor of old “while I was running scans, I found evidence that this ship has travelled through time, it is probably what **caused** the rift! What were you _thinking_! You gave them the secrets of _Time Travel_?”  
  
Tina said “Doc before you continue, let me set one thing straight this ship was never meant to travel in time! I got the results as well! And if you ask Merlyn so did he! I didn’t give them the secrets of Time Travel! It was meant to make its own stable  
wormholes and fold space around it so we could explore the far reaches of the galaxy! It was never designed to travel in time! And I don’t know why it has! Clearly, something went very wrong, which is why I wanted to come! I know my duties”.  
  
The Doctor paused in mid-sentence and said, ‘you _knew_?”  
  
Tina said, “I knew, it was never meant to travel in time”.  
  
The Doctor said, “I apologise then Tina”.   
  
“I want to find out why it did,” she said “it was never _meant_ too! I know my duties as a Time Lord even though technically like you, I am a renegade as well, and even if **_someone_** has forgotten theirs, why do you think I have taken on the twins. I have to show  
them what it means and how to be a Time Lord. I feel somewhat responsible for them, their like you and I, I know my duties, but this isn’t my universe, nor in many ways is it theirs. I have to find out why the Intrepid has travelled where it was never meant to  
go”.  
  
The Doctor looked somewhat sheepish “I am sorry, Tina” he said.  
  
Tina laughed and then said “always the Quintessential English gentlemen aren’t you, Doctor? You and Sal would have gotten on famously. Sal in many ways could be as English as you; he liked his tea and his marmalade, his cricket, his football, and his  
racing, he even sounded slightly English, like me, he had an Australian accent, but, it sounded like he was originally born in England but had moved to Australia and had lived there for quite some time, long enough to pick up an Aussie accent but with  
English undertones, like it had lessened but never actually gone away. I have an Australian accent, I sound like I was born and bred in Australia but not Sal, and although I do know a well-spoken Australian can be mistaken for English. Although you sound  
faintly Irish sometimes”.   
  
“I do?” he asked, “no one’s ever been able to place mine”.  
  
“You sound Irish,” she said, “not strongly Irish but definitely Irish”.  
  
He shrugged “perhaps, you do have an accent though it sounds familiar somehow”.  
  
“My accent is Australian” she replied, “and it sounds familiar probably because of Tegan”.  
  
“Pardon? _Whom_?” he asked.   
  
“ _Tegan_! You know! You don’t remember, do you?” she asked, noticing his expression ‘you really have lost your memory, haven’t you?”  
  
“Whose Tegan?” he asked, he frowned, the name nagged at him.  
  
Tina replied, “she was a former travelling companion of yours”.  
  
The Doctor shrugged “I’m sorry Tina, I really can’t remember”.  
  
Tina said, “I don’t suppose it matters anymore anyway, we have more important matters to be dealt with”.  
  
“You seem to know more about me than I believe you could,,” he said.  
  
“Like I said, you are something of a legend here,” she said, “and something of a hero to me”.  
  
“I’m not sure I want to be or even _should_ be,” he said, “Tina, I am sure I have done some terrible things”.  
  
Tina stopped and took his hands and looked deep into his eyes “you're a force for good, you always have been, don’t think you're not”.   
  
“I don’t know Tina. Not anymore” he said.  
  
Tina let his hands go “please don’t doubt yourself; I don’t like it when you do that. You’ve _never_ doubted yourself”.   
  
“Maybe I am not who you think I am,” he said.  
  
“No you are, but it just hurts to see you so unsure of yourself, that’s all, you always stood up for what’s right. I think you are lost more than you think and not just in time or dimension. I think you have lost a bit of yourself as well. I want to help you regain  
that at least put you on the right path” she said, “I know it sounds silly but your my hero you always have been”.  
  
He said, “maybe you should be more careful of who you admire”.  
  
Tina said “maybe so, but I can’t change that, I can’t change _whom_ I admire” she touched his arm “you’ll _always_ be my hero, come on let's see if we can work out what went wrong if three Time Lords can’t work it out than what right do we have in been called  
_Time Lords_?” she turned to Zalaz “Dr Zalaz I am taking The Doctor, Ensign Merlyn and Lt Gorinda with me to the control room, see if we can put things to rights, such as the gravity, the lights and the air, we can all survive in this atmosphere, but we will all  
freeze sooner rather than later if we don’t fix it”.  
  
“Very well, Lieutenant Commander Tina,” he said, “the rest of you come with me”.   
  
“You sure you don’t want some extra security,” Red asked.  
  
“With a _Jedaini_!” Tina asked “no we’ll be fine, come on Fido” the Cybermat followed her.  
  
“I’m only a Senior Apprentice,” Merlyn said.  
  
“Merlyn I rather have you at my back than any other Security Personnel anytime, Senior Apprentice you maybe but you’re also a damn good one!” Tina said “besides us, Time Lords have to stick together don’t we?” she paused “ besides Merlyn, you may be still  
just a Apprentice technically, but after what you did on Saris 4 in my eyes at least you have earnt the right to be considered a full Knight”.  
  
The Doctor spoke then “you seem to know an awful lot about the Jedai Order Tina, considering you claim you’re not part of it”.  
  
Merlyn said, “to our eyes, Tina is a Xanaduen and an Honorary Jedai”.  
  
Tina shrugged and said “Serena and Casamir are two of my closest friends it was Casamir who rescued me and nursed me back to health and through post-regen trauma. I’m his second on the Equals Council as well. I’ve known this brat!” here she tweaked  
Merlyn’s Apprentice braid “since he was about 4 or 5 equivalent, I have learnt a fair bit about the Order because of that”.   
  
“OK,” he said.  
  
Tina said “I had a rough regen ok? And was sick for days afterwards, I got to know Casamir, Serena, Terayas and the rest of them rather well, especially the twins, seeing they are Casamir’s wards. Merlyn apparently while I was unconscious sat by my bed  
night and day because he didn’t want the ‘ _pretty lady_ ’ to die. He didn’t seem me regen though that had happened just before I stumbled out. All I knew that when I regained consciousness, I was an inch or two taller. Somewhat younger-looking and had curly red hair. Basically, I looked like I do now. The first thing I saw when I regained consciousness was this little red headed kid of about 4 or 5 looking at me with concerned silver-blue eyes” she smiled at Merlyn then.  
  
Merlyn said “I didn’t want her to die. I just knew she was meant to live, that Tina was important, I felt it”.  
  
“You have the gift of foresight?” the Doctor asked then.  
  
Merlyn shrugged “it’s like yours more, not exactly foresight but easily mistaken for it. Just Knowledge of where someone fits in, I’ve never claimed to be able to see the future”.  
  
“ _Hmm_ ,” said the Doctor “you’re much like your nickname, you know”.  
  
Merlyn chuckled and said “that’s why they call me _Merlyn_! It suits me more than Quinawah does, I’m good at fixing things, always have been, I’m seriously considering changing my name to Merlyn in fact!” he paused than continued “ok to understand why,  
here is the explanation, many Xanaduens tend to have a habit of picking a name that suits them better than their actual name, and using it rather than our actual ones, take Red Sonja for example, her real name isn’t Red Sonja, truth is I don’t even know her  
actual name! She’s always just been Red! And as for Xena, I don’t know what her real name is either. I just prefer Merlyn over Quinawah.”  
  
“What’s in a name, anyway?” Gorinda asked “for many years I went by another name other than Gorinda, it’s only recently I started to use Gorinda again. Gorinda is my true name by the way, but for many years I was known as _Urart_ and still am to my friends”  
he paused “Tina, where is the control room?”  
  
“This way,” said Tina.  
  
Merlyn frowned “the airs getting staler and thinner up here for some reason. I can feel my hearts trying to adapt” he put his helmet back on.  
  
“I noticed that as well,” said the Doctor putting his back on as well.  
  
“ _Hearts_?” Gorinda asked.  
  
“Merlyn has two,” said Tina putting on her helmet “perfectly normal”.  
  
“Not for a _Dorenganza_!” said Gorinda.  
  
Tina said, “for a Dorenganza whose half Gallifreyan it is”.  
  
“Pardon?”  
  
“I’m half Gallifreyan it seems” Merlyn explained, “like Tina”.  
  
“It’s a little more than _half_ Merlyn!” she said.   
  
“You mean you’re also a Time Lord?” Gorinda asked.  
  
“Apparently so,” said Merlyn “well maybe not a Time Lord yet but it seems Half Gallifreyan at least!”  
  
Gorinda said “what a combination! Dorenganza and Time Lord! And Jedai to boot! Remind me never to get on your bad side Merlyn!”  
  
Merlyn said “yeah”.  
  
Tina said “Arha! Control room” she pulled out her sonic screwdriver and opened the door “if we go, Merlyn I might need you to interface with the computer”.  
  
“No problem,” said Merlyn “haven’t found a comp yet that I can’t interface with” he ignited his lightsabre and turned the light on his helmet on.


	3. The Intrepid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Away team find out one of the awful secrets of the Intrepid.

The control room was totally pitch black save for a few lights on the panels.  
  
Merlyn went in first, frowning as he felt a wrongness in the place due to his attunement to the Way, something terrible had happened here he could feel it, there was vileness to the site, and he got assaulted by emotions of anger, hurt fear, he reeled slightly,  
cursing his P1 talents, as a Prime he was acutely sensitive to such things, he felt both his hearts pounding and leaned up against the door, he used Jedai techniques to calm himself.  
  
“Merlyn you Ok?” Tina said walking in and then stopped herself, she wasn’t a Prime, but she had developed stronger Psionic powers with this regeneration, although; she had always had them, but it had gotten stronger, she had regenerated here in this  
universe, and her current rating was P4 or 5, neither strong nor weak, but, even she felt a bit of what Merlyn had felt.  
  
“Gosh Merlyn I didn’t know, “she said.  
  
“Give me a second” Merlyn said as he strengthened his already strong Jedai defences ‘that took me completely by surprise”.  
  
“You ok honey?” she asked.  
  
“I am now,” he said, removing his gloves “let me do some fingerprint reading”, it was a quirky talent he had, one Rast shared an ability to ‘ _read_ ’ fingerprints.  
  
He ran his hand along the wall getting impressions of fear, hate, blood, and lust, one stuck out stronger than the other _Help!/ they're coming!/ what the...?/ Oh no!/ Argh!!  
  
_ “Merlyn?” Tina asked.  
  
Merlyn removed his hand “what happened here _wasn’t_ pleasant”.  
  
Gorinda walked in at that point and went white and put his hands over his head and exclaimed “Oh my.....! What the frig happened! What was that!” he put his head down and whimpered slightly and started to shake slightly.  
  
Merlyn looked at him in concern, a strong tele-empath and Way-sensitive, if not much else, Gorinda was _particularly_ susceptible to strong emotions, sometimes they sent him into a turn, he had seen it happen, he had seen the Engineer try to claw his eyes  
out!   
  
He still bore the scars on his face due to that incident, in other words, Gorinda was brilliant but quite mentally unstable  
.   
“Steady” Merlyn said _“Braveheart_ ” he added.  
  
Gorinda nodded “I haven’t had a bad turn for ages not since Zalaz prescribed me that medication he found, but that was almost enough to do so. Also, I thank Casamir for those Jedai calming techniques he taught me”.  
  
“Are you sure you’re Ok?” Tina asked, “we could always send you back to the ship if this is going to cause your health problems”, she too had seen Gorinda having a bad turn.  
  
Gorinda nodded “I’ll be fine”.  
  
The Doctor came in turning the light on, on his helmet “so when do we start? It’s getting colder you know” he asked.  
  
“I _noticed_ ,” said Gorinda.  
  
 ** _“Lumos!”_** Merlyn said as a light flared up.  
  
“Thanks, Merlyn,” said Tina “now if I remember rightly”.  
  
“Looks like the main panel over there,” said Merlyn walking forward and looking at it.  
  
The Doctor drifted over “extraordinary” he said.  
  
Merlyn pulled the front off and touched the panel using his powers to interface to find out what was wrong.  
  
“Can you fix it?” Tina asked.   
  
“It doesn’t seem all that damaged actually,” said Gorinda looking it over with a trained Engineers eye “Merlyn mightn’t even have to remain interfaced with it”.  
  
“It’s just old,” said Merlyn disconnecting himself “and disused”.  
  
“So can you fix it?”  
  
“Give us a little while,” said Gorinda “we could all fix it I feel’ he picked up the toolkit he had come over with as Tina sat down on another station and started to pull its front off.  
  
“Can I help?” the Doctor asked, pulling out his sonic screwdriver.  
  
Tina smiled at him “yeah I’m sure you can, first things first we need to get life support up fully, so we can actually all _breathe_ , then put temperature and gravity to rights, so we can actually get down to solving the mystery”.  
  
“We can breathe anyway,” said Gorinda “but I see your point” he looked at something.  
  
He frowned “ we also need some light” he looked around for the power to power up the lights and then found it and pulled the front off, and started to adjust switches.  
  
The Doctor looked at him ‘you seem to know what you’re doing”.  
  
“I’m an Engineer Doctor, despite what you may have heard about me and believe me most of that is probably true as well; I do not deny that I am quite mad, but I am also a _qualified_ engineer and one of Rass’s main people down in Engineering” Gorinda  
replied, “yes I am overly sensitive, prone to violent and sometimes bloody turns, and mentally unstable sometimes to boot but I am also an Engineer.”  
  
The Doctor said, “I actually haven’t heard anything like that about you”.  
  
Gorinda looked at him, his coppery coloured eyes seemed backlit and piercing at the same time “ _really_?” he asked.  
  
“Nothing like that,” said the Doctor.  
  
“Really?”  
  
“Yes, really,” he said “I have often been accused of the same myself; the truth is I haven’t noticed anything untoward about you? And if I did I didn’t think anything of it, seeing you’re all a little, dare I say it? _**Eccentric**_? It seems to me it is just the way your   
race _is_! I have never met a race quite like yours”.  
  
“Really?”  
  
“Yes really, most races with your power tend to be corrupted, yours, however, seem to have that power and yet have remained good, and your race is a palpable force for Good”.  
  
Gorinda nodded “kinda like you then, we’re like the Guardians of this universe”.  
  
Tina nodded “kinda like Time Lords yet not. I have bound myself to this race, these are my people now”.  
  
“Tina’s one of us now,” Gorinda said, he looked at the lights “Ok here goes!” they waited as he flicked a switch and with a click the lights all came on, illuminating the control room, but in a way, they wished it hadn’t.  
  
“ _OH my_....!” Tina went pale under her light tan, Merlyn staggered back as if hit, Gorinda moaned and crouched and covered his face, shaking.  
  
The Doctor even looked shocked, even **he** went paler than usual!  
  
The main control room was a scene of carnage, no bodies remained of course, but it was in ruins.  
  
There was blood, and other unmentionables splatted all over the panels. The walls, bloody footprints, snail trails of blood, bloody handprints, scorch marks from energy weapons scored the entire room, deep claw marks were scratched into the walls.  
  
The place was in a shambles, there were skeletal remains, one was a man and a woman lying on top of each other, and their bodies showed signs of violent death, another two also had what appeared to be a piece of metal impaling them both, another was  
nailed to a wall in an upside-down crucifix.  
  
“What _happened_ here?” the Doctor asked, he’d been the first to recover.  
  
“It’s like they all went mad,” said Tina.  
  
“That would definitely explain the feelings we all picked up,” Merlyn said softly.  
  
Tina nodded “yes”.  
  
Gorinda still looking shaken was flashing a torch around in the surrounding shadows that the lights didn’t quite reach and said: “uh Tina I wouldn’t go about turning the gravity on too fast, well at least not yet”.  
  
“Why?” Tina asked.   
  
“Have a look?” said Gorinda flicking the torch around and all saw why.  
  
The walls were covered in blood and other bodily fluids, and there were debris up on the roof simply up there because there was no gravity.  
  
“Oh my....” said Tina.

“Unless we want _that_ all crashing down on us, hold putting the gravity back on, well here at least until we make it safe,” said Gorinda “ and we probably shouldn’t put it on full Earth norm”.  
  
“What could have _caused_ this?” the Doctor asked.  
  
“Who knows, it has only remained like this because there is no gravity and no air,” said Tina “and it’s as cold as....”  
  
Gorinda said, “consider my words Tina”.  
  
Tina said “I am! Gee this is not what I anticipated”.   
  
“ _Hmm_ ,” said Gorinda then “see what we can do here and then solve the mystery”.  
  
Tina said, “this ship has been somewhere it never should have gone, I need to find out why, and it is my duty as a Time Lord, even a renegade one to find out why”.  
  
Gorinda looked at them both “your both renegades aren’t you?”  
  
“Uh huh,” said Tina “but I still feel I have to find out, why it had gone in time when it was never meant to”.  
  
Gorinda chuckled then “no wonder you get on so well with us, we are similar in our views, you Time Lords are in many ways Dorenganzan in your ideas and views”.  
  
“Not everyone,” Tina said “most of our people tend to hold themselves aloof from the affairs of mortals and a code of non-interference to the point of doing nothing! I couldn’t stand that! **He** couldn’t stand that” she indicated the Doctor “which is why we left,  
also I would have never been able to marry Salmarian” she sighed “poor Sal he paid for his ideals with his life”.  
  
“I don’t think Sal is dead,” said Merlyn quietly then “I’m willing to go with Celeste’s theory the rules are different here. You’re both regenerated and mightn’t even _recognise_ each other if you’re in the same room, maybe the same thing happened to you as it  
did the Doctor, _he’s_ totally lost his memory. He can’t even remember who he is”.  
  
“ _Hmm_ ,” Tina said quietly trying to cover her emotions.   
  
“I’m willing to believe that,” said Merlyn quietly “so should you”.  
  
Tina said, “maybe you’re right, Merlyn”.  
  
Merlyn frowned just as Gorinda looked up and both of them seemed to flash silvery-blue for a second, Merlyn’s hair went to red flame, and Gorinda’s went silver.   
  
“What’s _happening_?” the Doctor asked as Tina pulled him behind the two Dorenganza.  
  
Tina said “Dorenganza can pick up evil, they have both gone into protective mode, and there is something evil on this ship, and they picked it up, something has stirred” Tina explained, “their auras will go blue and will protect us as well, trust me you learn to  
take _**notice**_ when a _Dorenganza_ begins to glow, and I know some magic on my own”.   
  
“Magic?” the Doctor “with all due respect Tina, anything appearing to be magic usually has a totally scientific explanation”.  
  
“Yeah I know,” said Tina “where we both originally from maybe, but here, magic exists, the rules are different here”.  
  
Merlyn said “there is definitely something wrong and evil here if it flares up our protective powers like this” he ignited his lightsabre, and Gorinda pulled out his blaster.  
  
“ _Must_ you?” the Doctor asked.

Gorinda said “we may need it! Our auras don’t flare up like this if it isn’t anything _dangerous_!” both their auras had gone a bright silvery-blue now like blue fire.  
  
The Doctor said, “and you _intend_ to take it out with a gun?”  
  
Gorinda said, “if I have to”.  
  
Merlyn stepped forward and said “I think we woke something up” as suddenly the room was plunged into darkness again and all around them were the sounds of thumping, screaming and the sense of evil got stronger.  
  
Gorinda went pale and started to shake; Merlyn used to working with Gorinda took his hand and said: “ _Braveheart, Gorinda, Braveheart_ , don’t lose control now”.  
  
Tina stood next to the Doctor “hold fast” she said to him as the disturbances continued.  
  
They stopped a few moments later, and Merlyn said “this ship is _haunted_ ” they heard a click, Merlyn’s eyes widened, and then Merlyn grabbed Tina without warning and Gorinda following his lead grabbed the Doctor and without a word, teleported them out  
of the central control room.   
  
“What the....?” Tina asked as Merlyn pushed her down and Gorinda did the same with the Doctor, surrounding them all with blue fire all around them they heard crashes, splashes and whatnot and the ship came alive around them, the lights came on and the  
like.  
  
When it was gone Merlyn helped Tina to her feet “all systems returning to normal”.  
  
“What happened then?” the Doctor asked.  
  
“I don’t know,” said Merlyn “all I know is that all systems have returned to normal, the gravities back on, so’s life support and _everything_! It’s almost like we witnessed some sort of battle between two forces, one for good and one for evil. Good won out” he  
pulled off his helmet and took a deep breath ‘ the airs still a little cold and thin but it is starting to clear up and is warming up, whatever happened then turned it all back on”.  
  
The Doctor removed his helmet and smoothed his hair “maybe we set it off or something”.  
  
“ ** _Or_** someone else did it for us,” said Tina.  
  
A mist formed into Zalaz “great job guys but could you have at least _warned_ us when you turned the ship back on? A bunch of debris hit Red; she’s alright, but has a concussion”.   
  
“We didn’t do it,” said Merlyn.   
  
“What?”  
  
“We didn’t do it,” said Gorinda.  
  
“Someone _else_ is on the ship apart from us,” said Tina.  
  
“Something evil,” Merlyn said, “maybe a ghost”.   
  
“There appear to be two entities of energy here” the Doctor remmarked, then removed his spacesuit and smoothed his frock coat and stood there once again looking like himself.  
  
Tina removed hers, her jeans, shirt and jacket looked out of place compared to the Doctors Edwardian garb.  
  
Merlyn chuckled and got out of his suit, he was wearing Jedai robes brown over sand, Gorinda was in overalls.  
  
Zalaz said _“Hmm_ , perhaps what did happen though?” as they followed him up a corridor.  
  
“Where have you camped?” Tina asked.  
  
“Not camped exactly,” said Zalaz “although some more came over for a look, we have most of the Leaders here now, I couldn’t exactly say _no_ to the Leaders now could I?”  
  
“No” she agreed.  
  
They came to rest of the group, sure enough, most of the leaders were there and Casamir and Rastalin, Rastalin hugged his twin.  
  
“What happened?” Casamir asked, coming over “report?”  
  
“The ships haunted” Merlyn replied.   
  
“Thought so,” he said, “are you Ok?”  
  
“I’m fine,” said Merlyn submitting himself to a functionary scan from Casamir.  
  
Casamir nodded apparently satisfied “take it easy on that heart though Merlyn”.  
  
“Yes, Master Casamir,” he said.   
  
“What happened?” He asked Tina.  
  
“Something came and turned the machines on “Tina replied, “I don’t have your training in the Way, Casamir, so I can’t really say much more than that”.  
  
The Doctor spoke “we are not alone on this ship” he paused ‘there is something else here, an entity of some sort, maybe several”.  
  
Tina said, “my _Time Lord_ senses are agreeing with that, but I can’t say much more”.  
  
Casamir nodded “your ‘ _Time Lord senses_ ’ are almost as good as a Jedai’s Tina. I trust them, just as much”.  
  
The Doctor continued “something tried to scare us away, but that something also turned on all the systems or so it seems which leads me to conclude that there are more than just one entity”.  
  
Merlyn said, “he may be right Casamir”.  
  
Casamir nodded “that maybe, Merlyn, Ashan what did you pick up?”  
  
Ashan shrugged “I didn’t have the encounter they did, but I do sense wrongness here in the Force and the presence of something definitely evil. We are definitely not alone here, there is darkness here”.  
  
“And lots of it “Gorinda added, “I almost had a turn”.  
  
Zalaz looked at the engineer in concern “would you like to go back to the ship?”  
  
“No,” said Gorinda.  
  
Rasscerain spoke then ‘if Gorinda believes he is fit I believe him”.  
  
“ ** _Just take it, easy buddy_** _,_ ” said a voice, from a, being the Doctor had never seen anywhere else although Daleks were similar, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t a Dalek; for one thing you never saw one of them outside its armour.  
  
Floating at the back of the party apparently under its own power was what looked like a large round ball of flesh made entirely of tentacles, teeth and one single colossal eye, an eye that gleamed with superior intelligence.  
  
The Doctor was astonished “may I ask just what **that** is?” he indicated the creature, thinking possibly, it was the Dorenganza’s true form.  
  
Rasscerain laughed and said “don’t worry, it’s just _Roly_! One of my Engineering team, _Hmm_ guess we should have warned you about him, huh?”  
  
The aforementioned Roly dipped slightly in greeting and said **“ _I’m a Beholder, uh I’m from another dimension just like you are Doctor, I should have_** _**taken human form I guess**_ ” he blurred, and a young man stood there dressed in overalls “is that better?”  
he asked.  
  
“You can shapeshift?” the Doctor asked.  
  
“Most of my race can’t, but then I’m a freak,” he said “I could, one of the reasons why I was cast out, I’m flawed, also I’m not evil, I could shapeshift, and one of my eyestalks heals rather than destroys. I fell in with a bunch of Spelljammers, and we crash-  
landed on earth, and the Xanaduens picked us up and said they could take us back to our own dimension or stick with them, we decided to stay with them”.  
  
“And it was a good thing they did,” said Rasscerain “Roly’s a _damn_ good engineer”.  
  
The Doctor said, “every time I think I know everything there is to _know_ about you, you go and surprise me again”.  
  
“Just your luck” Rasscerain teased “Ok Tina, just what are we looking at here?”  
  
“I’m not entirely sure, Commander” Tina replied.  
  
“Ok,” he said, “we’ll check it out thanks, Lieutenant Commander, you said you helped build this ship, what can you tell us about her?”  
  
“A fair bit” Tina replied, “for one thing it was never meant to travel in time”.  
  
“And it has?”  
  
“Yes,” she replied.  
  
“Ok,” said Rass “there _must_ be a reason for it”.  
  
“I think something went horribly wrong,” said Merlyn.  
  
“I’m sure of it,” said Tina.  
  
Rass nodded “I sense that something did, you can feel it” Rass’s talent was an ability to understand machines like nothing else, it was similar to Merlyn’s interfacing talent, he turned to Gorinda “ do you want to stay on board?” he asked the engineer.  
  
“I’ll be fine, Rass,” he said.  
  
“OK,” said Rass “if you feel otherwise, just leave, ok?”  
  
“Yes, Rass”.  
  
“Good,” said Rasscerain “now” he rubbed his hands together “let's see what we are up against, shall we?”  
  
Senoran said, “maybe we should set up a basecamp or something”.  
  
Tina nodded “yeah, say, can you Xanaduens teleport between ships?”  
  
“Now that we have been here, yes I believe we can,” Senoran said ‘our teleporting ability is only useful if we have a definite idea of where we are going, but speaking of Teleporting I want both you and the Doctor to wear these,” he said handing them each a  
bracelet and a badge.  
  
“What are these?” the Doctor asked.

“A teleporting bracelet,” Tina said “gives us the ability to teleport between the two ships, don’t worry they came with **X** , the badges are communicators” she indicated Merlyn “we all wear them, when we are part of an away team, allows us to communicate  
with both **X** and each other” she clipped it onto her shirt.  
  
“I’ve adapted both the bracelets and the badges to you both,” said Senoran and then he smiled at the Doctor “consider yourself part of the _crew_ Doctor”.  
  
“Very well,” he said, “I’m sure it’s _not_ the first time this has happened to me”.  
  
“It isn’t,” said Tina “mind you, you usually get annoyed with been stuck in one place and one time, but I think in this case you really have no choice”.  
  
He said, “I probably don’t”.  
  
Tina grinned and said “and I get to work alongside someone whom I never thought I meet!” she sobered “Sal would have _loved_ this!”  
  
Merlyn said, “I don’t think he’s dead Tina”.  
  
Tina smiled a little sadly at Merlyn “one can hope”.  
  
“If you are meant to meet again, you will,” Merlyn said he indicated the Doctor “maybe him been here is part of it, he changes things wherever he goes, and so do we, and it is not just because I’m a Time Lord, it is because we are Dorenganza”.  
  
Tina said, “what do you mean by that, Merlyn?”  
  
Merlyn looked slightly sheepish and said “it is not a well-known fact, and it is not one we advertise, people think we are enough _trouble_ as it is, but as you and he change things wherever you go, uh, so can we, which is why Dorenganza and Time Lord are a   
deadly mix. Time Lords aren’t the only ones who can change things by just been there. So can Dorenganza even if we do it unknowingly”.  
  
“Merlyn, what are you saying?” she asked.  
  
Merlyn said “it is possible that we bought the Doctor here simply by will because we needed help against the T’ron, we have been known to do stuff like that, make dreams real, and why we were believed at one stage to be peoples dream selves, and so forth,  
it’s one of the reasons why we have been blamed for so much trouble. Unfortunately, it’s not only **us** who can do it” he trailed off ominously.  
  
“So can the T’ron” Tina finished his train of thought.  
  
“Uh huh this probably explains the two Daleks” he paused then.  
  
“Gee,” said Tina “no wonder you don’t advertise it”.  
  
The Doctor came over then “you can **_alter reality_**?” he asked Merlyn.  
  
“Not always individuality, it’s more of a group thing; it takes a few of us to do it. But yes we have been known to alter reality, change memories, make things happen, make dreams come real that type of thing purely by will” Merlyn said, “we’re always able to  
do it, even if we do it unconsciously”.   
  
“Just _who_ or _what_ are you Dorenganza? ”The Doctor asked.   
  
“Probably the most powerful race in the universe apart from the T’ron,” said Zininza coming over “lots of people don’t believe it of us thought or take us seriously as been sent off earth proved, everyone thinks it’s the Sardran who are, but it’s not, their   
power, though considerable is _nothing_ compared to ours! Or the T’ron. Look even if Merlyn is right and we did inadvertently bring you here, we appreciate your presence, and we really do need your help Doctor”.  
  
The Doctor said, “I said I would help, and help I shall, as long as you help me find a way back to my own dimension and universe”.  
  
“We’re working on that,” said Zinz.  
  
The Doctor said “I would help you anyway now; there are time anomalies here that I should look into anyway. I have no misgivings about been here, nor regrets, truth is I am more than a little intrigued at you”.  
  
“Quite unlike anything you ever met eh Doc?” Zinz asked.

“Quite” he agreed “I want to know **_more_** about the race that claims that they are ‘ _the most powerful race in the Universe_ ’ I’ve met a lot of aliens some who have claimed the same. And yet when you make that claim, I believe you, maybe it is because noone else thinks you are” he continued “the fact that you make that claim simply without boasting makes it more believable”.

“Unfortunately so are the T’ron,” Senoran said, “kinda like you and the master as powerful as each other only on the opposite ends of the scale when they claim it, _they_ aren’t boasting either”.  
  
“ _Who_?” The Doctor asked.   
  
“The _Master_! You know” he looked at the Doctors expression “you really don’t remember, do you?”  
  
“No I’m afraid not” he replied with a frown “although the name strikes a chord”.   
  
“You and he were arch nemesis’s for years,” said Senoran ‘both equal and opposite. But somehow I think you enjoyed it, both of you, sparring with each other as you did. It’s still unclear what happened to him though, I think you killed him”.  
  
“Another _Time Lord_?” the Doctor asked.  
  
‘Yep” said Senoran “you knew each other quite well actually” he shrugged “that’s all I know, but that is beside the point. Us and the T’ron we are the same in many ways, without us the T’ron would have taken over the galaxy centuries ago”.  
  
“I see,” said the Doctor “it seems I have gotten involved in this deeper than I realise. I will stand beside you as long as you need me. One thing we have got to do is get you allowed back on Earth”.  
  
“Good luck on that one,” said Senoran “it won’t work, I know it won’t, we will not walk on Earth again until the war is over”.  
  
“You seem pretty sure on that,” the Doctor said.  
  
“It won’t work,” said Sen “look what we have to do is try and find out what we can about this ship and where it went where it did”.  
  
“We need a post cognitive,” said Tina “that isn’t Merlyn’s or Rastalin’s strongest talent, Merlyn and Rast can read fingerprints and pick up impressions, but that’s it, they can’t get images or actual input from the past, not to the level we need, know any Post-  
Cogs?”  
  
Senoran said, “I can ask around, see if there are any onboard”.  
  
“Thanks,” Tina said, “I need to find out why”.  
  
“Yeah,” said Senoran “me too”.  
  
“Find me a Post-Cog,” she said.  
  
“I shall do my best” he promised.


	4. The Xanadu- Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Xanaduens put a show and Tina gets another late-night discussion session with the Doctor.

  
  
Tina said a while later “well we seem to have gotten everything off to a good start, it’s warming up, the airs getting better, we’ll be able to breathe better soon, and then our work can begin”.  
  
“What are you hoping to find?” the Doctor asked her.  
  
“An answer” she replied.  
  
The Doctor was looking at her notes on the ship that Tina had given him, she had done it mainly to prove that she had not intended the ship to go back in time, or break any laws of time travel.  
  
It was later, Tina, the Twins and the Doctor were in Tina’s quarters looking at her notes on the Intrepid.  
  
The Doctor looked around the room; Tina’s TARDIS, disguised as a wardrobe was standing up against the far wall, all around her quarters were relics from her travels, books of all kind, pictures, a winged black and white Persian looking cat lay curled up  
asleep on the couch, a small black and white rabbit was hopping around the floor, and a Maltese Terrier and a Foxy Terrier were both sleeping on a large dog bed.   
  
A large ginger Tab was sitting cleaning itself on the table, two lovebirds were chatting away to each other in a cage, and a hutch containing a family of longhaired Guinea Pigs was in the adjoining room.  
  
A huge map of Australia hung on a wall.   
  
A framed picture of a slightly older but stunning dark-haired woman and a brown-haired man around the same age as the woman was on the wall, behind them was the Sydney Harbour Bridge on a bright sunny day with blue skies, your classic Australian  
picture.  
  
The Doctor looked at it “whose this?” he asked.  
  
“Me and Salmarian” Tina replied “it was before I regenerated,” she said, “you _do_ remember that don’t you?”  
  
“Yes” he admitted, “although there are some things that just don’t add up, you really used to look like that?”  
  
“Yes,” she said, “I have to explain that to the kids one day”.  
  
“You look happy” he remmarked.  
  
Tina shrugged “I was a different person then” she called up a hologram; the Doctor recognised it as the **_INTREPID_**.  
  
“What are we trying to find?” Merlyn asked.  
  
“Where a time rift would possibly be,” said Tina “this is probably what caused that rift, the ship's engines were designed to fold space around it and create stable wormholes not travel through time”.  
  
“Something went wrong obviously,” the Doctor said coming in with tea and scones for everyone on a silver tray.  
  
Tina grinned “always the Quintessential English Gent, aren’t you Doc?” as he put it on the table.  
  
The Doctor shrugged “perhaps, do you _realise_ your black and white cat can open the fridge and pour out some milk for itself?”  
  
Tina laughed and said “she’s a Crasolian cat; you're talking about Angel, aren’t you? The black and white-winged one?”  
  
“Yes,” he replied.  
  
“She’s a Crasolian cat,” Tina said, “they’re about as intelligent as a human”.  
  
“Arh,” said the Doctor.  
  
“Gingers not so lucky, he’s just an Earth cat,” Tina said taking the teapot.  
  
“I’m still impressed,” the Doctor said, “and a little _confused_ ” he looked at the blueprints, spread out in front of them “Tina these are extraordinary!”  
  
Tina shrugged “Quantum physics and Science were my best subjects back at the college on Gallifrey, and I had a flair for technical drawing. It was in technical drawing I met Salmarian, he was assistant teacher, he’s about 50 years older than me, if he’s  
still alive, I’m only in my second Regen. Like I said we were both still quite young” she sighed “I miss him so **_much_** at times! We planned to have a family and everything!”  
  
Merlyn said, “your still ahead of us, we’re only 95!”  
  
Tina nodded “I know Sal helped me with Technical Drawing it was something we were working on together. I don’t know what we intended to do with it, it was just a theory we both had, we weren’t even sure if it would even work,” she sighed again  
“something went terribly wrong!”  
  
“I wouldn’t blame yourself,” the Doctor said, “the theory is quite sound, my guess is the humans did something wrong or deviated from your original design, your husband was brilliant!”  
  
“Like I said I just had a flair for it, Sal was the true genius,” she said.  
  
The doctor continued “judging from this I’d say the humans deviated from it, technically this ship shouldn’t be able to time travel, it tear itself apart otherwise, it’s either that or something _else_ interfered”.  
  
“Possibly,” said Tina.  
  
“Another Time Lord?” he asked.  
  
“I’m not discounting that,” Tina said, “but it could also be the T’ron or something”.  
  
“ _Hmm_ ,” said the Doctor, “I think we all should go for another look” he traced a long finger across the drawings, clearly thinking “definitely” he declared.  
  
“We will but not tonight,” said Tina “the Xanaduens are putting on some type of entertainment tonight, and I intend to go watch it”.  
  
The Doctor said, “but....”.   
  
“No, _you’re_ coming with me,” she said, ‘you’ll like it”.  
  
“What is this?” the Doctor asked.  
  
“One of the things the Xanaduens are good at is entertainment. They are the masters of improvising; they can put on a show at the drop of a hat. The Drama group always put on plays or suchlike, their good at it. Most Xanaduens can sing and dance as well,  
it seems to be in their very being much like their ability to shapeshift. I can sing and dance as well, I’m a Bard, everyone gets involved, and I am going to go sing, _you’re_ coming with me”.  
  
The Doctor said, “you have really adopted these people as your own haven’t you”.  
  
Tina nodded “I have lived amongst them for over 90 years, they are more my own people now than my own, bring your violin , I am led to believe your quite good on it and join us”.  
  
The Doctor looked thoughtful “well alright” he relented.  
  
“Cool,” said Tina “I got just the piece we can do together, heard you not a half-bad singer either”.  
  
A few minutes later armed with various instruments, Tina, the Doctor, and the twins were all down in the theatre, that was aboard the **_XANADU_**.  
  
“I **_swear_** this ship gets bigger and bigger every time we come here,” said Tina smoothing down her velvet and lace medieval style dress.  
  
“It probably does,” said Merlyn “you know X”.  
  
“Yeah she mightn’t be a TARDIS, but she certainly comes close!” Tina said with a chuckle.  
  
“How does that work?” the Doctor asked.  
  
Tina shrugged “I’ve never been quite sure actually it’s just that X never seems to run out of space, and she moves rooms around as you know. I think it is something to do with the Dorenganzan planar nature or something. _ **X**_ is a complicated AI; she has  
opinions and views all on her own. She’s a person, not just a computer, kinda like our TARDIS’s I guess only a bit more vocal about it, I have heard people arguing with her, she has a mind of her own, and yes she is most definitely a ‘ _she_!”  
  
They entered the theatre and Senoran clad in the typical flamboyant Leaders robes he was known for, that the Doctor had noticed that all the Leaders seemed to wear, gave them a wave and came over.  
  
“There you are,” he said, “good you convinced the Doctor to come along, you're our guest of Honour tonight Doctor”.  
  
“I _am_?” he asked.  
  
“Yep,” said Senoran.  
  
“I even _convinced_ him to bring his violin along!” Tina said.  
  
“You can play?” Sen asked him.  
  
“The Doc can do _anything_!” Tina declared “he’s _The_ _Doctor_!” Rast and Merlyn both grinned.  
  
“A little” the Doctor admitted.  
  
“A _little_!” Tina said “don’t be so modest! You’re a genius! Capt. don’t believe a word of what he says! The Doc and I are going to do a piece together if you don’t mind”.  
  
“You know the Xanaduen number one rule, **_anything goes_**!” said Sen with a smile “even I’m going to sing! And so is Song”.   
  
“Wait till you hear Song!” Merlyn said to the Doctor “now ** _there’s_** a voice!”  
  
“Who’s Song?” the Doctor asked.  
  
“Admiral Songtayin” Merlyn said, indicating a short, black-haired, Gorta-Trellian lad dressed in the customary flamboyant garb of a Xanaduen Leader.  
  
“Oh,” said the Doctor “is this customary practice?”  
  
“Yes,” said Senoran “we get bored we put on a show for the crew it’s one thing we are known for, putting on a show at the drop of a hat, I can tell you some stories” he paused then continued “ you have mainly seen the side of us not many have, tonight you  
will see the other side of us, the side we are more known for and often judged by” Sen shrugged “ we have our reasons for doing so, so sit back and enjoy the show, we’re not half bad at it, Durnaa’s always asking us to put on some entertainment if we’re all  
together”.  
  
Tina grinned and said, “I have been part of these shows, and Durnaa hasn’t even _known_ it!”  
  
“Probably because you’re an Equal Tina” Senoran said “I hope you do realise that as far as we are concerned, Time Lady or not, your one of us! You too Doctor!”  
  
“I am?” he asked.  
  
Senoran said “you’re stuck with us for now, and we tend to adopt anyone who gets stuck with us, however temporarily, anyone who spends time with us gets _touched_ by us all, much like you touch everyone you come across. Come to think of it, Time Lords  
and Xanaduens aren’t so unalike at all. Enjoy the show; you’re our guest of honour, so you’re upfront”.  
  
“Follow me,” said Tina taking his hand and pulling him through the crowd.  
  
Merlyn chuckled and said, “the Poor Doctor he’s not going to forget this in a hurry!”  
  
“Nor Tina” said Senoran.  
  
“C’mon Rast,” said Merlyn “I see Celest and Ana” they went to join their friends and fellow Apprentices.  
  
Casamir indicated a seat to them both, both bowed to Casamir and sat down.  
  
“Wonder what they got planned?” Celeste said, slipping in next to Merlyn.  
  
“Something to do with the Doctor no doubt,” said Rast “he’s tonight’s Guest of Honour”.  
  
“Cool,” said Ana offering her tub of honey corn to Merlyn and Rast.  
  
Celeste said “yeah” she handed out ice-cream sodas to everyone.  
  
Casamir said, “I _noticed_ you bought your instruments as well”.  
  
“Tina insisted,” said Merlyn.   
  
“I imagine she did,” said Casamir.  
  
Suddenly the lights went down, and the music started to play. Lights danced all around the walls, and there was the sound of Tardis materialising.  
  
Tina sitting next to the Doctor, laughed as the curtains parted and said: “so _that’s_ what they wanted it for?” As a familiar blue police box sat on the stage.   
  
“How did they...?”  
  
Tina chuckled “don’t worry; it’s not what it appears it’s _mine_ , not yours”.  
  
“Oh,” he said.  
  
“It’s on remote,” said Tina.   
  
“You _loaned_ them your ship?” he asked.  
  
“Well, I was hardly gonna let them _borrow_ **yours** was I?” she asked.   
  
“No, I guess not,” he said, “but how?”  
  
Tina said “the chameleon circuit on mine, unlike yours actually ** _works_**! Well, **_most_** of the time, she spends most of her time looking like a wardrobe”.  
  
The music stopped as the ship formed and a voice started “ _welcome ladies and gentleman, boys and girls_ ” the door opened.  
  
A figure stepped out, a red headed Gorta-Trellian man clad in the customary flamboyant robes and circlet of the Leaders, his robe, was covered in rainbows, he spread his arms and bowed.  
  
“High Admiral Zininza” Tina said, “ _Master of Ceremonies_ , he always does it because he’s good at it”.  
  
“Welcome!” Zininza said “ _I am Master of this world we have bought you too, a world of imagination and dreams of magic and time, a world where any dream can fly, and dreams can be made real, and fantasy can become real! You have joined us on this_  
_journey through your imagination! Join us! And enjoy yourselves! Be **one** of us!”_ he spread his arms again as lights flared out around him than fizzed out, and everyone laughed.  
  
“ ** _Flutesun_**! You _spoilt_ my entrance!” Zininza called out to his side amidst laughter “where’re my lights! Oh, Bugger this! I’ll make my own!” he flared up his aura, altering it, so it looked like a rainbow “ ** _there_**!”

“Uh sorry High Admiral,” said a voice “Emerald get out of the lights!” and what looked like a baby _Green Dragon_! was then pulled out from behind the curtains.  
  
“ _No fair_!” the baby Dragon complained.  
  
“Seren will you please keep your sister under control!” the voice continued amidst more laughter, even the Doctor wasn’t sure now whether it was part of the show or not!  
  
Zininza groaned and then continued “as I was saying, welcome to our world, a world of magic, mystery and fantasy and of time!” the lights flared up around him again.  
  
Zininza nodded. Picked up his mike and continued “ ** _Time_**! _Even the very word makes you pause and think, the future, the past and the present, all is affected by Time, it is unseen, but we all feel it and see its effects, most of us can’t escape it nor control it.  
_ _Not even we are immune from it, but to some of us here tonight, Time is their friend, their lover, their greatest enemy, their greatest ally. They are Timeless and walk through it unaffected they can control it, move through it, shape it, to them Time is_  
_relative; they are unbound by its rules. Here is our guest of Honour tonight. A Traveller in Time a **Lord** of it”.  
_  
Tina said, “your cue, up you get Doc”.   
  
“ ** _Me_**! But...”  
  
Tina chuckled “told you, you were the guest of honour, I’ll go with you if you like”.  
  
“Oh very well,” he said, standing up “Tina, I am going to make you pay for this!” but he was smiling he loved a good show!  
  
Tina said, “yeah, right”.  
  
He went up on stage, feeling uncomfortable and self-conscious, Zinz smiled at him and offered out a hand “come on up on stage, Doctor!”  
  
He did so, and Zinz said “everyone here is our guest of honour, intrepid hero of space and time and Time Lord, **_The Doctor_**!” there was applause, the doctor smiled, than glared at Tina who gave him a thumbs-up, he bowed .  
  
“ _Time travelling through space to save all mankind, through time_ ” came singer’s voices in the background.  
  
Zininza said his voice low “ _relax a little Doctor_ ” then he said “The Doctor here tonight, crossed time and space, he transcends boundaries and changes the world wherever he goes. Everyone give him a big Xanaduen welcome!” the whole auditorium clapped  
and cheered, Tina gave him a smile as Zininza formed lights around them both and behind them, a galaxy appeared.  
  
Zininza laughed at the Doctors confused expression “ ** _Illusion_**! We’re Masters at it!” he then turned to the audience “ _Travelling through time to save all mankind!_ ” He sang than continued “ _welcome to our world/ a world where the rules do not apply!’ a world of magic and fantasy/ where any dream can fly/ and the child within can show through/_ ” he paused and said “welcome to the world of Xanadu!” he nodded then to someone standing in the shadows “take it away Wildfairy!” he then turned to the Doctor “you  
may go down now”.  
  
The Doctor nodded as Wildfairy took the stage and started to sing Olivia Newtons-John’s ‘ ** _Xanadu_** ’ as it was traditional for her to do so.  
  
Tina said “that’s pretty traditional, she always sings _Xanadu_ ” she handed the Doctor some sheet music “think you can adapt that to your violin?” relying on Time Lord intelligence.  
  
The Doctor looked it over “easily” he said.  
  
“That’s our duet we’re doing together,” she said, “I chose it because I think you would like it, think you can do it?”  
  
“Yes,” he said, “but Tina, are you ** _sure_** about this?”  
  
Tina said, “just go with the flow, they _always_ do this when they have a guest; it’s a Xanaduen tradition”.  
  
Wildfairy finished her song, and Zinz came back on stage and said: “thanks Wildfairy lets continue our Journey, shall we?”  
  
Wildfairy nodded and turned away, talking to someone behind the curtain, and the lights came back on, and another person came out dressed in long robes and said “welcome”.  
  
The Doctor looked from one to the other “ _twins_?” he asked Tina as the other person was Zininza’s mirror image.  
  
“Nasonian, Zininza’s identical twin” confirmed Tina “another one of the leaders”.  
  
“Arh, I see,” said the Doctor beginning to understand “are ** _all_** the command crew Leaders?”  
  
“Pretty much so” she replied.  
  
“How _many_ do you have?”  
  
“Last count about 20 or so” she replied, “Tirellian, Tori, Zininza, Nasonian, Vasilion, Rasscerain, Songtayin, Selunia, Linaya, Meri, Letoran, and Wildfairy to name just some”.  
  
“How come there are so many?”  
  
Tina replied, “the Leaders have ruled Xanadu for Time immemorial, much like we did, the Time Lords that is, they are usually the spokespersons for _Xanadu_ , the ones people know, and it has always been so”.  
  
“I see”.   
  
“Selunia was one of us originally,” Tina said, ‘then she got promoted, Casamir asked me to fill in her position left vacant by Selunia which is why I am second on the Equals council”.  
  
“You didn’t mind,” he asked.   
  
“No” she replied, “my parents were on the council back on Gallifrey, so I was, guess I was **_born_** into it”.  
  
“You really are like Romeo and Juliet, aren’t you?” the Doctor asked.  
  
“Yes we were, Salmarian was a low ranking Temporal Engineer, and I was the daughter of an official. One of the reasons why we fled, we wouldn’t have been able to wed”.  
  
“Oh,” said the Doctor.  
  
“You were a High ranking Time Lord as well, you still _are_ , you and I are two of a kind,” Tina said “Sal and I realised this, and we fled because we wouldn’t have been allowed to marry, and we were in love. Ok so maybe we were both young and foolish, and it  
was probably the wrong thing to do, and Sal paid the ultimate price, but it was what we had to do!”  
  
The Doctor said “perhaps”.  
  
Tina said ‘it was probably the type of thing you would have done had you ever been in love, it’s a shame you never have”.  
  
The Doctor shrugged “maybe I have, I just can’t remember”.  
  
Tina said, “but I have, and I know how much it can hurt, but I don’t regret it, not one bit, love hurts, but it’s worth it”.  
  
“I am sorry I am not whom you want me to be”.  
  
Tina said, “I am not _asking_ you too”.  
  
The Doctor continued “but you seem to have this preconceived idea on how I **_should_** be”.  
  
Tina said “I’m sorry, but I _know_ you or at least _thought_ I did!, but maybe I had too high hopes, you simply _are_! Truth, never matches the legend, it’s like Jesus Christ I guess, and the legend is greater than the man”.   
  
“Met him have you?” he asked.  
  
“No, but I do like to read history, I suppose I could go back and meet him, but I don’t really _want_ to, I think that would be _interfering_ a little too much!”  
  
“Probably a wise decision” he agreed.  
  
“They probably think I was some type of Goddess,” she said “I’ve been to Atlantis, Greece and Rome though, I have been to Bethlehem, I’ve been to where Christ was said to walk, Jerusalem, the City of Heaven they used to call it, I’ve been to Troy. And I was on the Titanic, things happened slightly differently in this universe, but no, I haven’t been tempted to go back and meet Jesus Christ”.  
  
“Probably a good thing,” he said.  
  
“And **_now!_** ” announced Zininza then “for our main show! An old classic that we all should know!”  
  
Tina turned her attention to the stage to listen, and the Doctor followed suit.  
  
Zininza continued “we should all know this classic story of Time Travel, it’s been around for centuries! I bet the Doctor’s even met the Author! For your enjoyment tonight everyone, may I present to you, H.G Wells, _The Time Machine_!”  
  
Tina clapped and said, “this is going to be a treat!”  
  
“ _The Time Machin_ e!” the Doctor asked.  
  
“Why not?” Tina said “believe me, you’re in for a treat, the drama group are _amazing_! Just sit back and enjoy”.  
  
“Oh, very well,” said the Doctor.  
  
Tina took his hand “trust me”.  
  
“That’s a new one,” said Merlyn then as he joined the Time Lords “they probably spent their entire Christmas break rehearsing it!”  
  
The Doctor looked at Merlyn, what was it about the lad that _appealed_ to him so much?  
  
Tina grinned and said, “he’s young, he’s a Time Lord, and you always had a soft spot for the young ones as companions”.  
  
The Doctor frowned at her “stop reading my mind Tina, you know it’s _rude_ ”.  
  
Tina grinned then and said “not my fault, I’m another Time Lord and have some pretty decent PSI powers, I am a 4or a 5 you know” she smiled “seriously though it was pretty obvious what you were thinking”.   
  
“It was?”  
  
“To _another_ Time Lord yes,” she said, “I wasn’t reading your mind Doc, but I _am_ a Bard and have learnt to read people rather well, you develop a knack for it, so you can play the proper tunes to work for the crowd”.  
  
Merlyn said “I picked it up as well, I’m a Jedaini, we are taught to read people as well. As Tina said I’m young, a Time Lord, well half at least, I have a knack for science and an interest in Knowledge and history. I can fly a Tardis almost as well as either of you, and pretty much able to look after myself and others, and you always had a soft spot for young people displaying those qualities. I’m the _perfect_ companion”.  
  
Tina said “he’s got you well pegged Doc! Why do you think I _want_ them?”  
  
He looked slightly embarrassed, and both Tina and Merlyn laughed, and Tina said “I’ve known this pair of twins almost all of their lives. They **_are_** the perfect companions!”  
  
Merlyn said “Tina don’t ever forget I am also Jedaini, that is a big part of my very core and being. That is not something I am gonna lose or change, all my life I’ve always wanted to be a Jedaini Knight, I’m almost there, and I don’t intend to change, I’m  
guessing our non-Time Lord parent was a Jedaini as well”.  
  
Tina said “Merlyn been _Jedaini_ is **who** you are, it’s **_who_** you **both** are, you and Rast both, I don’t want either of you any other way, but you are **_also_** a Time Lord, and you both need to learn how to use that part of yourselves as well to its fullest potential. You  
have powers bequeathed on you by that alien blood; you need to learn to use those too. This is what I want to teach you both, and to my frame of mind at least I think you have earnt the title _Jedaini Knight_. What you did on Saris, what you did to save that  
little girl. I think you have earnt the title Jedai knight. It is up to Casamir to decide that, but as far as I am concerned you're a Apprentice no longer”.  
  
Merlyn said, “they are worried about Rastalin’s darker side”.  
  
Tina said, “and I told Casamir it is not your Dorenganza blood that causes that, that is your Time Lord blood, we have a dark side, we all know that, that is where Rast gets it”.  
  
“We’re only half Gallifreyan,” he said.  
  
“It’s a little more than half,” said Tina “Time Lords ** _aren’t_** invulnerable. We can be turned into vampires; we can be turned into something other than Gallifreyan. The Doctor probably can’t remember it, but he was even an Androgrim once! And he’s got human blood anyway, or such is the rumour! And nor are Dorenganza! You're a bit more resistant, but even you aren’t immune to stuff like that. You’re a little more than half Time Lord it’s more like 70 or 80 per cent Time Lord, you have most of the powers of a  
Dorenganza as well but not all. You seem to be an equal mix; actually, the dominant side is Dorenganzan though.”  
  
“I guess we do,” said Merlyn sitting down to enjoy the show.

  
It was late, Tina didn’t know how late nor really care, she had the Doctor all to herself, and that’s what mattered.   
  
He was regarded with much the same awe as the Leaders were here on the ship and everyone had wanted to talk to him when he left the show.  
  
She had even pulled the somewhat embarrassed Doctor away and taken him to Starlight’s which at this hour of the morning was near deserted, and now they sat together sipping tea.  
  
“You’re got quite the fan club here,” Tina remarked.  
  
“Why, though?” he asked.  
  
Tina replied “as I said you’re a legend here in this universe, **_the Doctor, intrepid adventurer, and hero, of time and space, defender of the weak_** , never mind the fact that I have been here all the time! Noone _knows_ me! To many I am just Tina; one of X’s  
Science crew, one of the Equals and second in charge on the Equals Council. But **_you_**! Now **_you’re_** a legend! _**Crikey**_! Even I attend Science Fiction Conventions, Time Lady or not! The number of costume parades I have won turning up in the formal robes of a  
Gallifreyan High Councillor!” she smiled “they were my mother’s spare set. Most people don’t even know that I really _**am**_ a Time Lord! Sal and I used to love going to conventions, I still do” she smiled slightly “Sal even made a couple of life-sized Daleks once!  
Their sitting in my ship he loved doing stuff like that”.  
  
“You made fun of such things?” he asked.  
  
Tina said “look before you get your back up, here in this universe you’re a legend, noone really knows you exist Ok? To many your, a fictitious character, who managed to get a large fan following. I’ll have to take you to a convention one day” she laughed  
then “now that would be a hoot! _Galaxicon_ is on later this year if you’re still around then I am taking you to it! It’s on Alpha Centauri this year; _our_ Alpha Centauri is way different to yours. Here it is a popular tourist destination, with some of the best dive  
spots in the Solar System! According to Gallandros Starfire, who’s also known as Landos Star, currently one of the heads of the resistance on Earth; Prince of Sydney and a well-known SF and Fantasy author he’s one of the guests of Honour this year”.  
  
“Pardon?”  
  
“Gallandros Starfire” she replied.   
  
“I’ve heard the name, Merlyn mentioned it”.  
  
Tina explained “Gallandros Starfire, he is one of the resistance leaders along with Durnaa and Guardian; he lives on Earth and is well-known Author of Science Fiction and Fantasy and some Mystery and horror, he lives in Coogee which is in Sydney Australia.  
He is also the manager of _Star Enterprises_ , which is a computer consulting and employment agency along with some other things, built it up himself apparently; he uses the Pseudonym _Landos Star_. He is also something like 1000 years old and is  
Dorenganza. He is the undisputed Prince of Sydney and is probably one of the most powerful Dhampir’s you’ll ever meet!”  
  
“A _Dhampir_?” the Doctor asked, "half Vampire, Half Mortal?"  
  
“Oh yeah,” said Tina “not many people know that about him though and he likes it that way, he couldn’t hide that fact from me though although I doubt he even realises that I exist, not many people do, been an Equal has granted me an amount of anonymity,  
which is probably a good thing in case there are other Time Lords about. I’m probably classed as a renegade, much like you are noone ever takes notice of the Xanaduen Equals!”  
  
“I noticed that myself,” he said.  
  
“The Leaders have always been the spokespeople for Xanadu,” Tina said “for time immemorial it has always been so. The Dorenganza are the Time Lords of this dimension. Unfortunately, most people don’t take them seriously”.  
  
The Doctor nodded “Commander Zininza mentioned that, that they were the most powerful race in the universe. Normally I worry a bit when a race claims that but for some reason I believe him when he said it” he paused “maybe it’s because he stated it so  
simply with no boasting or anything like it was a fact”.  
  
Tina nodded “they _are_ the most powerful race in this universe, but noone believes them when they say so, which is probably why it is the truth. I have lived amongst them for a long time, and I believe them”.  
  
The Doctor nodded “and I am inclined to believe you. Tina, did they really bring me here?”  
  
“Who _knows_ ,” she said “maybe, you are alone after all, where are your companions? You always travel with at least one companion”.  
  
“My companions?” he sighed “safe I hope I ended up here alone”.  
  
“What happened?”  
  
“I don’t rightly know” he replied “one moment we’re together, I went alone in the Tardis for something, I noticed an anomaly on the scanners I went and looked at it, next thing I knew I was here and alone on Saris 4, as far as I know, my companion, is still  
where we were. I think he’ll be safe, where we were was quite safe if I remember, probably wondering where I went though”.   
  
“We’ll get you back” she promised.  
  
He nodded “I know, but I really don’t want to leave yet I was bought here for a _reason_ though, I feel even if the Xanaduens did bring me here. My Companions are **_used_ **to losing me, especially lately”.  
  
Tina chuckled “if they did it was kinda funny, they probably wanted an army or something instead they got you!”  
  
He said, “they did, didn’t they?” he said, sipping his tea “Tina _enough_ about me, how about _you_? How did you end up here?”  
  
Tina shrugged “Sal and I, we somehow ended up here. I was a different person then that dark-haired lady you saw in the photo we liked it here, so we never tried to get back, and then something happened, I can’t remember what, I lost Sal. I regenerated and  
found myself amongst the Xanaduens” she replied “but maybe Celeste is right, maybe he didn’t die. Maybe he regenerated as well and seeing this isn’t our world, maybe we have been in the same room and haven’t even recognised each other! Or maybe we just haven’t crossed paths, I _recognised_ you”.  
  
The Doctor nodded “I also recognised you as another of my kind how did that happen”.  
  
“Gallifreyans and Time Lords, usually recognise each other. It’s a characteristic we all have, that is how I recognised you,how you recognised me, and we _both_ recognised the twins and they, _us_ ” she explained.  
  
“Makes sense. I did notice the twins when I first saw them. I picked them out from their friends” he paused “maybe if that is the case you and your husband just haven’t crossed paths in the last 90 years”.  
  
“Or Sal is dead,” she said quietly.  
  
“You _loved_ him, didn’t you?”  
  
Tina nodded “he was the other half of my soul that is why I cling to his memory. I miss him so much”.  
  
The Doctor stood up “another tea” he asked.  
  
“Yes,” said Tina looking out of the window at the bulk of the ‘ ** _INTREPID_** ’ floating near the planet ‘ _ **XANADU**_ ’ had latched herself onto it.  
  
The Doctor came back with two more teas and noticed Tina looking out of the window at the derelict ship “you alright?” he asked.  
  
Tina nodded “yes, I was just wondering what happened? What made the _Intrepid_ go travelling in time? It was never _meant_ to”.  
  
“Maybe the humans meddled in something they never should have” he replied sipping his tea.  
  
Tina sighed “I wouldn’t put it past them, humans are amazing, inquisitive, and vibrant, and have great potential and so very.....”  
  
“So very, very _frustrating_!” the Doctor finished her thought with a slight smile.  
  
“Yeah” Tina agreed.  
  
“I have often thought the same on many occasions” he remmarked “Tina, we will find the answer”.  
  
“I _hope_ so,” said Tina.


	5. The Intrepid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tina and the Doctor and the twins are working in the Intrepids engine rooms and find some troubling evidence to the mystery of the Intrepid and something unexpected happens.

  
It was the next morning a team of the crew were on board the _**INTREPID**_ which was now breathable, a lot warmer and with gravity (albeit somewhat lighter than Earth norm) so they didn’t have to wear spacesuits anymore, and all could quite comfortably work there.  
  
Tina had found her way down to the engine room and was scanning for Artron energy or any form of energy that conceded with time travel.  
  
Merlyn and the Doctor came in with her, as Merlyn’s knack with computers was coming in handy.  
  
“We probably shouldn’t let too many people in here” the Doctor, remmarked, ‘the amount of Artron energy around here could be dangerous”.  
  
“Their **_Dorenganza_** Doc” Tina said, “they’ll adapt automatically’.  
  
“You’re probably right; we _aren’t_ dealing with _humans_ here”.  
  
“Some of Roly’s crew are human” Merlyn remmarked.  
  
Tina lifted her scanner towards Merlyn and scanned him “yep that definitely proves it”.   
  
“Proves what?” Merlyn asked “that I adapt automatically to the conditions?” he looked up from the control panel he had opened and was rooting around in.  
  
“You're definitely one of us,” Tina said, “more Time Lord than Dorenganzan, of course, that could **_also_** be your Dorenganzan side automatically adapting as well”.  
  
Merlyn said “ _so_?”  
  
Tina chuckled ‘you have the normal amount of Artron energy in your body for a Time Lord your age, Dorenganzan adaptability no doubt”.  
  
Merlyn said “no I’m Dorenganza if anything I’m a Dorenganzan Time Lord. Tina, you know I have been bought as a Dorenganza, my whole being is Dorenganza, I rate as one on most scans when I got shot I got listed as been _Dorenganza_! I **_look_** Dorenganza!”  
  
“No, actually you look Gorta-Trellian,” she said.  
  
“Not when I was shot, I defaulted back to _Dorenganza_ , but I guess for my entire life my _preferred_ form has been Gorta-Trellian, but despite appearances Tina, I **_am_** Dorenganza” he extended his antennae “see these prove it!”  
  
“You definitely have Artron energy though, in your body,” Tina said walking around the room “the level is quite high here; I’ve filtered us out, although strangely enough, it’s registering another lifeform with Time Lord or Gallifreyan bio-data, possibly an echo or something from us”.  
  
Merlyn frowned “it is?”  
  
“Yeah,” said Tina “can’t seem to fix on it though” she turned to Merlyn “do you sense anything?” she asked, relying on his Jedai senses.  
  
The Doctor looked up from where he was examining the large round ball that made up the bulk of the engine “this design is _extraordinary_ ”.  
  
Tina nodded “it was meant to fold space around it”.  
  
Merlyn extended his senses; his antennae extended as well, picking up the Doctor, Tina, himself and Rastalin, noticeable due to their slightly different ‘ _feel_ ’ within the force.  
  
Rastalin must have noticed him doing so as he sent back a feeling of warmth to his twin; he also picked up the somewhat elusive feel of the rest of the Dorenganza aboard the ship, including Casamir.  
  
He increased his awareness, encompassing the ship, frowning at a sense of the dark side he felt and a feeling of something not all there, but, he also noticed strange warmth, and a strangely familiar bio-signature that felt eerily familiar, as well as what  
seemed to be the signature of another Time Lord or Gallifreyan.  
  
“He’s starting to glow’ said the Doctor to Tina noticing that Merlyn’s hair had changed to red flame and his aura had started to glow a soft blue.  
  
Tina said, “uh oh, _Merlyn_!”  
  
Merlyn came over and said ‘there is danger afoot, evil, but there is something else”.  
  
“What?” Tina asked.  
  
“Tina that echo you picked up I _don’t_ think it’s an echo,” Merlyn said.  
  
“Pardon?” she asked.   
  
“There is another Time Lord or Gallifreyan on the ship somewhere, possibly two,” Merlyn said.  
  
“There is?” said Tina.  
  
Merlyn nodded “I don’t know where though, it’s like they’re all over”.  
  
“Pardon?” said Tina.  
  
“The presence is all over, it’s like they’re I don’t know in the ships systems or something”.  
  
“Oh _my_ ,” said Tina “I sure _hope_ that **_doesn’t_** mean what it sounds like?”  
  
“Pardon?” said Merlyn.   
  
“When a Time Lord finally dies, their memories and that are transferred into a computer or something like it,” Tina said “one of the reasons why we left. But if _somehow_ the humans got a hold of a Time Lords memories and somehow managed to download it into the ship's computer”.  
  
“You’d get one **_hell_** of an **_AI_!**” said Merlyn finishing her thought.  
  
“Including the know-how to travel through time,” said the Doctor.   
  
“You don’t think that’s what happened, do you?” Merlyn asked, both Time Lords looked at him, as he voiced their unspoken thoughts.  
  
Tina said, “I am not willing to discount that possibility Merlyn”.  
  
“So let me get this straight” Merlyn said, “it is possible that somehow the humans managed to get a Time Lords memories and it is the ships _**AI**_?”  
  
Tina nodded “that’s what I’m thinking Merlyn”.  
  
“What went _wrong_ , then?” Merlyn asked.  
  
“Could have been anything?” she said.   
  
“They all went mad, _including_ the AI _. Clearly_ , more investigation is necessary then” Merlyn said thoughtfully.  
  
“Yes,” both agreed.   
  
“It also could just be _haunted_ as well” Merlyn added, “that sometimes happens too, but something is definitely evil here though”.  
  
Rastalin came down and said, “you guys, ok here?”  
  
“Yeah,” said Merlyn, ‘what’s up?”  
  
Rastalin jumped down and said, “we’re not _alone_ on this ship”.   
  
“You saw something?”  
  
“More like felt,” said Rastalin “I sensed a presence, an evil presence and then things went strange, we all started to glow it got suddenly colder, and the lights dimmed, and then there was this god awful caterwauling and things started to fly around, there is a  
presence on this ship one that doesn’t want us here”.  
  
“What happened next?” Tina asked.  
  
“Well that’s where it went **_really_ **strange, suddenly the events stopped as mysteriously as they started and everything came back on, that’s when I felt the other presence, the _good_ one, it’s like someone has control over the ship's functions”.  
  
“The other Time Lord?” Merlyn wondered.  
  
“Pardon? Fill me in here, Ok? I don’t quite have Merlyn’s gift for scientific matters” Rastalin said, “ ** _he’s_** the scientist, not I”.  
  
Tina said “sorry Rast”.  
  
“ _What_ **other** Time Lord?” Rastalin asked, “hay look as far as I know you and the Doc are the only two Time Lords here!”  
  
“So are you two,” said Tina.   
  
“We’re _Dorenganza_!” Rast said, “yeah we’re half Gallifreyan or _appear_ to be, but we’re still Dorenganza where it matters, so what other Time Lord?”  
  
“Tina’s got a theory,” Merlyn said.  
  
“Do tell?” said Rastalin.  
  
Tina said, “I think a Time Lords consciousness has been downloaded into the ship”.  
  
“You mean a _spirit_ of a _Time Lord_ is haunting the ship?” Rast asked.   
  
“No, downloaded into the computer, quite possibly it is the ships **_AI_ **that’s haunting it,” the Doctor said, “most hauntings have a _scientific_ explanation”.   
  
“How could **_something_** like that happen?” Rast asked, “so this ghostly Time Lord is haunting the ship?”  
  
“Well....” the Doctor said.  
  
Tina shook her head “no what I think may have happened the memories of a dead Time Lord somehow got downloaded into the ship, thus becoming the ships AI”.  
  
Rast said, “ _now_ **_that_** would be some AI!”  
  
“I said the _same_ thing!” Merlyn said.   
  
“It’s not a _laughing_ matter, you two!” Tina said afraid that the twins weren’t taking this seriously enough ‘if that is what has happened, we _have_ to _stop_ it!”  
  
“Why **_would_** someone do that though,” Merlyn asked.  
  
“Could be any number of reasons Merlyn” the Doctor said, “think of the _possibilities_ ”.  
  
Merlyn looked thoughtful then said, “no, I don’t think that’s it”.   
  
“Pardon?” the Doctor asked.   
  
“Something’s _wrong_ , time is out of joint, I can feel it”.  
  
The Doctor looked at Merlyn ‘you sound like me, tell me, Merlyn do you feel things like that? Time out of joint, civilisations about to collapse, that type of thing”.  
  
Merlyn nodded “yeah, I always thought it was Jedai senses, but now I am not so certain”.   
  
“That’s your Time Lord side, it is known as ‘ _Feel the Turn of the Universe_ ’” said Tina “ it is a Time Lord Trait, as I said it was just a theory and a pretty far-fetched one at that at this point”.  
  
“So do I,” said the Doctor his mind still on his words to Merlyn.  
  
“There is another involved though, but I don’t think it’s the ship, “ said Merlyn ‘something turned the lights on, and that to make it easier for us to work here, maybe _someone_ is trying to send us a message”.  
  
“How did you come up with that?” Tina asked.  
  
Merlyn aimed his scanner at the engine ‘because that signal we picked up, the _other_ Time Lord? Is coming from **_in there_**!”  
  
“From the temporal engine?”  
  
“Uh, huh”.   
  
“ _That’s impossible_!” Tina said “none could get in there, no one was ever meant to! It only opens when the ship folds space around it or creates its own wormhole, it can’t be possible!”  
  
“Not if there was some type of rift in time created when it was last activated,” the Doctor said.  
  
“Pardon?” Rast asked, “um _layman’s terms_ please”.  
  
“None the less the signature is coming from in there,” said Merlyn.  
  
“There’s a _ghost_ in the machine?” Rast asked.  
  
“Maybe not a _ghost_ ,” Tina said.  
  
The Doctor asked, “do you know _any_ other Time Lords in this universe?”  
  
Tina looked thoughtful and then said “yes! ** _Now_** I remember! There is one other!”.  
  
The Doctor nodded “go on”.  
  
“His names _Xavier_ , well that is what he called himself anyway,” Tina said, “I think he’s another renegade”.  
  
“Where did you meet? And does he know _you're **also**_ a Time Lord?”  
  
“Well no, um, I don’t _think_ so,” said Tina “he seemed ok, we met on Earth, briefly, he was with an _ **SIS**_ team, I think he’s their scientific advisor or something, quite the gent he was as well, reminded me of _you_ actually”.   
  
“ **SIS**?”  
  
“ ** _Special Investigations Services_** , something like that, much like **UNIT** , he hadn’t been with them very long though, he’d been on Dominion most of the time, I don’t know how long he’s been here”.  
  
“Dominion?”  
  
“The Base of the Space Marine Chapters, it’s an artificial world, you can find all the Chapters based there even the weirder more fanatical ones, but Xavier didn’t have _anything_ to do with this!”  
  
“Where is he now?”  
  
“Last I heard the Team he was in had been recalled back to Icotorus, which is their home planet. To investigate suspected T’ron incursion, that was just before we were kicked off Earth”.  
  
“Where is Icotorus?” the Doctor asked.  
  
“Just a short hop from here,” Tina said, ‘it’s one of the outlying colony worlds as far as I know the Xanaduens haven’t been banned from there”.   
  
“We haven’t,” said Merlyn.   
  
“Could we possibly go _talk_ to this Xavier?”  
  
“Yeah,” Tina said, “why.”  
  
“Well, we may need all the help we can get,” the Doctor said, “you say this is a war, we need the help, and maybe we should try and contact this _Xavier_ ”.  
  
Tina said “ it’s a possibility, but he mightn’t like the fact been contacted by two other Time Lords, like I said I think he’s a renegade, well actually I was never _really_ a renegade, I was just in love and wanted to see the universe. Yes, we were Romeo and Juliet, but my Tardis is mine by right”.  
  
“It is?” Merlyn asked.  
  
“Yeah I inherited it, it was my father’s, that’s why it’s a type 40, but it’s _my_ Tardis. I was entitled to get a better one, but I didn’t want too”.   
  
“It’s _**your**_ Tardis?” Rast asked.   
  
“Yeah, it’s mine,” she said.  
  
“Oh,” said Rastalin.  
  
Merlyn said, “guys I think _something_ is happening to the engines!”  
  
“What?”” Tina asked as the Doctor stood back as well.  
  
“It looks like it is trying to open,” Merlyn said.   
  
“Get back, ** _everybody_**!” Tina called, pulling a somewhat startled Doctor back “we’ll all get dragged in otherwise! This **shouldn’t** be happening! Not while the ship is idle!”  
  
“Well something is definitely happening,” Rast said “ _Merlyn_ get out of the way!” he pulled his twin back.  
  
“Doors close!” Tina ordered as the engine doors all closed.  
  
“Are you sure that’s _wise_ , Tina?” Rast asked “locking **us** in here with it”.   
  
“Rast we four are probably the only ones who can be safe in here when those doors open up. Its raw temporal energy, it will be let out into the ship otherwise”.  
  
“We’re mostly Dorenganza,” said Rastalin “Dorenganzan can usually adapt to most things”.  
  
“I’m not taking any chances,” said Tina “gather around”.  
  
They did so, and she started to chant a little putting a shield up around them all.  
  
The giant sphere that was the engine opened up, energy poured out surrounding them all the twins clung to each other, a little worried, they were only _half_ Time Lord after all, but, as the Time Winds roared around them, it seemed to miss them entirely.  
  
Tina took the Doctors hand as they all felt themselves been pulled inward into the vortex and then her and the Doctor held onto the twins.  
  
“ _Braveheart_ ” they heard her say over their double heartbeats


	6. Inside the Intrepid's engines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inside the Intrepids engines Tina is reunited with someone she thought she had lost and would never see again and for the Twins there is also a surprise waiting for them, One they never expected!

When it all cleared, they appeared to be on a blasted, grey rocky land.   
  
“Well done,” said Tina letting the twins go, “I think we’re safe now”.  
  
Merlyn stopped shaking and then reacting like any Jedai Apprentice thrust into a new and unknown situation he was prepared he reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a device which he revealed to be a mini fold-up scanner.  
  
“Air appears similar to Earth norm” he reported looking at the readout.  
  
“Which means it is probably safe for you two,” said the Doctor, pulling out some equipment of his own and made his scan.  
  
Tina smiled, _typical Doctor_ , “there is no need to feel overprotective of the twins, when it comes to the air, worrying whether they can breathe or not, Xanaduens can breathe _anywhere_! They could probably easily take a tumble through the Time Corridor and still **_survive_**! Their planar nature automatically adjusts, it is you and I who should be more worried about that, two hearts or not! We’re still primarily oxygen breathers, Xanaduens definitely prefer oxygen, true, but they can pretty much breathe anywhere!  
Even Halfbreed ones!   
  
The Doctor looked at the twins “is that so?”  
  
“Uh huh, we could breathe on Saris,” said Merlyn.  
  
“Oh, “he said, remembering the atmosphere on _that_ particular planet even _ **he’d**_ have trouble with that one! He looked around “where are we?”  
  
“Inside the rift,” Tina said “my guess is there is something in the engines on the ** _Intrepid_** has somehow created its own rift in time. This charming looking place?”  
  
“Very” agreed the Doctor.   
  
“Looks like the _Death Zone_ ,” said Tina.  
  
“Pardon?” the Doctor asked.   
  
“The Death Zone, back on Gallifrey, Sal and I ended up there once with two of his other incarnations and one of mine, very _disconcerting_ of course especially for _me_! Since I’ve only regenerated Once and at that point hadn't even done so! And totally against  
the rules, of course. It happened to you too if I remember rightly during your fifth incarnation. You were that blonde one because some rogue Time Lord wanted _him_ for some reason! Not fun!” she replied.  
  
“ _I_...” the Doctor looked confused and forlorn “what do you mean?”  
  
Tina’s heart went out to him, with his forlorn expression, he looked more vulnerable than she ever expected to see him “you really _don’t_ remember, do you? What did they do to you? Look if I ever go home again for whatever reason, I am going to use the  
influence I have with the council to plead your case! It’s **_cruel_** to leave you like this! Without your memories, you once said: “ _a man is a sum of his memories, a Time Lord even more so_ ’ what has been done to you is just plain cruel!”  
  
The Doctor looked saddened “I don’t remember saying that, but it sounds like something I would have. I had an accident I think, but I decided to go on, it was the best I could do, I thought it best to do so, to leave the past in the past!”  
  
“It’s still _unfair_!” Tina said “you’re a force of nature, _an escaping equation_ , the galaxy **needs** you! It needs you more than it needs Sal and me; you’re ** _bigger_** than both of us! Even flawed as you are. It is probably one of the reasons why I will never go back; I  
can’t fully remember what happened to Salmarian and me. I am afraid that he is dead and I’m not, I just regret that we never got around to having a child, our own child, conceived the old fashioned way, no alterations, nothing, it would have been just Sal’s  
and I’s and ours alone. It would have had to put up with whatever genetic faults it got from us both, but it would have been our own. With its own right to choose what it _wanted_ ” she wiped a tear out of her eyes “that is my biggest regret, we thought we had all the time in the world to do so. We wanted kids, one, maybe two, we were both young even though Sal was half a century or so older than me, we _wanted_ kids. Eventually, I wish we could help you more”.   
  
“I wish I could help you more” the Doctor echoed, Tina gave him a hug.  
  
“Are you quite sure we’re safe?” Rast asked than looking dubiously around “there are time cracks all over the place, my scanner is going nuts!”  
  
“We’re probably the only four who would be,” Tina said reassuring them “something bought us here. Although I wouldn’t put it past _any_ of your race to be safe. Seeing you are virtually immortal once you reach adulthood. Although you two will probably  
regenerate like the Doc and I though due to your Time Lord blood, which isn’t so bad, it just gets annoying at first and is a bit of a gamble. Ok, Crew ready to go?” then she smiled at them “you two look _Jedai_ as usual” as both were in Jedai robes, Rast black,  
Merlyn brown.  
  
“Casamir always says _when visiting a new world, look Jedai_ ,” said Rastalin “it earns you respect on many worlds” he folded his arms in classic Jedai pose.  
  
“Yeah but I doubt _Rassillon_ will see the significance,” she said. 

“ _Who_?” Rast asked.   
  
“Rassillon, you know, **_Rassillon_**?” Merlyn said.  
  
“Arh yeah, Rassillon, you know I almost took that over Rastalin,” he said “Tina, do you really think we are in the death zone?   
  
“Probably not,” she said, “the wrong universe for one thing, but it sure looks like it”.   
  
“Rassillon” the Doctor repeated for a moment as a memory surfaced as he looked at the landscape “I wonder?” and then his face crumpled as he lost it “I can’t remember!” for a moment he looked like he desperately needed a hug.  
  
Tina’s heart went out to him again as she put a hand on his shoulder “ what did they do to you?” she asked him softly, looking at him, into his all too human eyes, saddened at what she saw there “ whatever it was it was just plain cruel!”  
  
He looked at her “I can’t remember”.  
  
“Gee, I wish I could help,” she said.  
  
“I don’t think you can, maybe all I need is more Time, got a lot of that,” he said quietly “ but thank you for caring” an abrupt change of manner than “let's go see where we are shall we?”  
  
“I’m with Tina, I think it’s the Death Zone,” Rastalin said, “we’ll end up playing the game of Rassillon”.   
  
“With _whom_?”  
  
“Just the four of us knowing our luck,” said Merlyn.  
  
Tina chuckled and ‘you two!, come on”.  
  
“I still don’t think we should be exposing the twins to these conditions’ the Doctor said.  
  
Tina said “try _leaving_ them behind!” then she added, “seriously Doc, their _my_ companions and quite frankly I like it that way and if push comes to shove a pair of trained Jedai Knights are handy to have around, your seen them fight, you know what they are  
capable of”.  
  
“True enough” he agreed.  
  
The group of four had been trudging along for quite some time, since leaving the entrance, not really seeming to go anywhere.  
  
The Doctor seemed lost in his own thoughts and disinclined to talk, perhaps he was trying to remember who Rassillon was, Rastalin was crabby and irritable because he had turned his weak ankle on a loose rock, he’d broken it a couple of years ago in two  
places, and as a result, it had never been quite the same again.  
  
Tina said, “there’s _nothing_ here!”  
  
“Did you **expect** there to be!” Rastalin grouched.  
  
“ _Rast_!” Merlyn said.  
  
The Doctor spoke then “Tina, did you expect that there was?”  
  
“An answer,” she said.  
  
The Doctor frowned “to _what_?” he asked.   
  
“I’m not sure,” she said.  
  
“Well if you’re not sure what the question is how do you expect to find an....” he started and suddenly stopped as a voice called out.   
  
“Ho there!” called out a male voice with a hint of an English accent.  
  
They all stopped in amazement at the voice as a man dressed similarly to the Doctor jumped off an outcropping of rock.  
  
He was tall, with long shoulder-length curly hair which was a rich dark red, good features and large grey-blue eyes; he waved madly, a young girl looking around the same age as the twins with long blonde curly hair, dressed in a duster coat, jumped up  
beside them as well waving madly.  
  
The man came forward dusting down the black coat he wore and said: “I thought it was only Crystal and me on this rock” he spoke with an Australian accent like Tina’s but with the hint of British one underlying it, like someone who had been born in Britain  
but had lived in Australia long enough to pick up the accent.  
  
“Hi,” said the girl; hers was similar to the twins.  
  
“Who are you?” Tina asked than her blue-green eyes widened as if suddenly hit with something and said “I-I _thought_ you were dead! _Oh my God_ , it really is **_you_**!”  
  
“I _thought_ the same about you!” he said “ ** _Tina_**!”  
  
“ _ **Salmarian**_!” she hugged him fiercely “I’ve _missed_ you so much! I thought you were dead! All this time! I-I thought you were dead! **_90 years_** Sal! Where have you been?”  
  
“Looking for you, unconsciously it seems, I guess, I thought you dead too!” he said, “Oh Tina, I missed you so much!”  
  
She stepped back “you’re _changed_!”  
  
He nodded and looked at her “so have you, I _like_ it”.   
  
“I regenerated,” she said”.  
  
“So did I,” he said, “I _like_ it”.  
  
Tina smiled “I like it too! At least _**now**_ we look like we belong together!” she indicated her own red-blonde curly hair “but I _seriously_ thought you were dead”.  
  
“I thought the same about you” he hugged her “I was taken to a hospital and next thing I knew I’d regenerated, totally scared the morgue staff not to mention _myself_! Especially when I wandered naked, save for a doctor’s coat out of the morgue apparently  
alive and unhurt if a little dazed and looking totally different, even though they are used to seeing weird things in the galaxy”.  
  
Tina chuckled “I can _imagine_ ”.  
  
“What made it worse” he continued “was that it was Easter, a couple of the more religious types started linking my regeneration to Christ. Thought it was the second _coming_ or something! I _tried_ to explain to them once I got my wits back that I was a Time  
Lord and that I’d just regenerated and that as far as I knew, was that Christ, _wasn’t _a redhead, or spoke with an Australian accent. I keep forgetting that we’re legends here, Crysta’s also Gallifreyan it seems, one of the few but, she is also something else as  
well, something called _Dorenganza_ , who are natives here, she is half Gallifreyan, gods know _how_ that _happened_! Seeing I thought we were the only two Gallifreyans here. It was one of the reasons I took her on as my companion when I found her trying to  
make a living for herself on the space station above Crasolia, **_EITS_** , she’s an orphan it seems, and she is like you and me but also _different_ ”.  
  
Tina then took a good look at the girl; she looked like the more commonly known Dorenganzan appearance (half-elf) about 16-17 with long blonde hair and green-blue eyes.  
  
Merlyn had also approached her, and she smiled at him, Tina turned to the twins and said “so you two are not _alone_ it seems” she then turned to Salmarian “Salmarian meet my companions, Quinawah and Tilanthalas Firesong or Merlyn and Rastalin as they  
prefer to be known as and this is....”.  
  
“I’m the Doctor!” the Doctor said, coming forward and shaking Salmarian’s hand enthusiastically and smiling his most charming smile.  
  
“Salmarian” he replied, looking both stunned and awed ‘you really ** _are_** the Doctor?”  
  
“I’m Crystal...” the girl started.   
  
“ _Firesong_? Your last name is _Firesong_ , isn’t it?” Merlyn asked then.  
  
“Well uh,” she said.  
  
Tina looked from the twins to Crystal and then back again as it suddenly dawned on her “she is like you and Rastalin!”  
  
Merlyn held up his hand “yes, she’s our sister” he said in that strange knowing manner of his “we have a _younger sister_!”  
  
“We **do**!” said Rastalin looking at the girl in amazement.  
  
“Yes,” Merlyn said, sounding awed ‘we have a little sister”.  
  
Tina grinned “that must have been _some_ romance then! You three definitely aren’t just some spacer’s brats, this **_proves_** it!”  
  
“How?” Rastalin asked still awed at the fact that they had a little sister, neither of them could remember.   
  
“Time Lords and a Dorenganza just _wouldn’t_ do that! You three are most likely blood siblings” Tina said “ “Ok maybe you and Merlyn could have possibly been a one night stand, a spur of the moment thing, Time Lords are as prone to feel like that as any  
human, we have feelings too, and sometimes yeah they do get well _umm_. You _know_. But the fact that you have a sister blows that theory apart, it proves that it wasn’t” she shrugged “a Time Lord and their companion obviously fell in love”.  
  
“Then our parents may still be alive!” Merlyn said.  
  
“Possibly, “said Tina, then she turned to Salmarian “what have you been doing all this time, Dear Heart, _Leshardi_?”  
  
Salmarian looked thoughtful than replied, “I made a good career as an information trader, Time Agent, and courier, until I ended up here when sucked into the rift, my ship, a Freighter, is now a mainly rusted hulk it broke apart as we got sucked into the  
rift, it aged the ship beyond repair, me and Crystal survived, but our ships had it, we’ve been living in its remains, and I think it is only because we are both Gallifreyan that we even survived, we were lucky our food machine survived and the ships AI and  
most of our equipment and supplies, maybe it was my presence or something”.  
  
He stood up then, and they saw he wasn’t dressed quite as old fashioned as the Doctor now, yes he was wearing a black velvet frock coat, but, underneath he was clad in a white tee-shirt and was wearing a pair of worn black cords, Crystal was in  
jeans and tee-shirt with the duster over the top.  
  
“One of the advantages of been a full-blooded Gallifreyan or with Gallifreyan blood, I guess, Tina I think you and I are the only two here and there is you of course Doctor, but your presence here is beyond belief!” Salmarian said.  
  
The Doctor looked up as Salmarian addressed him “I’m afraid I’ve gotten rather lost” he admitted.   
  
“You don’t just ‘ _get lost_ ’” said Salmarian “if you know Tina at all you would know how much we both _admire_ you! The time rips probably drew you here, unlike me who kinda just _stumbled_ into them. I miss our Tardis it’s no fun been stuck in a universe not  
your own, even though we had both been here for years. Tina, have you still got your ship? And if so would you be willing to take on some extra passengers?”  
  
The smile that crossed Tina’s face then could have lit up the _whole universe!_ “yes!” she said.  
  
“You still have it?” he asked, “our old, rickety type 40?”  
  
Tina nodded “yes”.  
  
“You managed to retain her?” he asked.   
  
“Yes! Wouldn’t trade the old girl in for anything! Despite the fact, I’m entitled! It was my father’s!”  
  
He hugged her “that’s my Gal!”  
  
Merlyn said, “it’s _always_ acting up!”  
  
“Yeah, that’s our **_TARDIS_** alright, temperamental old thing, just as well I'm a Temporal Engineer” Salmarian said, smiling at the twins “you Tina’s companions?”  
  
“Pretty much so,” said Rastalin.  
  
He looked at the twins then “Oh my! Tina you sure know how to _pick_ them!” he bowed to the twins and then respectfully said “you honour me” he then turned to Tina again “so how did you _manage_ to become such friends with a couple of Jedai Knights? And  
get them as your companions no less!”  
  
Tina shrugged and said, “I have my own story to tell”.  
  
“Tina’s known us for _simply **ages**_!” Merlyn said.   
  
“ _90 years_ , Tina! _**90 years**_! I have been stuck here _without_ a Tardis! I’m glad you retained her, I _missed_ her!”  
  
“Well, she’ll be glad to have you back again,” said Tina.  
  
“My own ship is destroyed, it broke apart around us by the Time Rip, pity, she was a damn good ship, but **nothing** compared to a Tardis!”  
  
“It looks all _girly_!” Rast said with a grimace.   
  
“Uh, I did some redecorating,” Tina said “and it’s not all _girly_! I just decorated it with stuff like batik and astrological and magical symbols, and Australian colours, it cheered me up”.   
  
“Actually I reckon it’s quite tasteful and relaxing,” said the Doctor “not quite ** _me_** of course but _perfect_ for Tina! Although I do quite like the stellar-Cartography map over the console room. It changes to show where you currently are, very nifty”.  
  
“I like it!” Merlyn insisted.  
  
“You _would_!” Rast countered.  
  
“I’m sure it’s fine,” said Salmarian.  
  
“I really thought you were dead,” said Tina.  
  
“I thought you were,” he said.  
  
“I like the frock coat,” Tina said with a slight smile.  
  
“You have an _excellent_ taste,” the Doctor said.  
  
“I think it rather _suits_ me, don’t you think?” Sal asked, “it goes with the red hair”.  
  
Tina smiled than said “at least we look like we match now! I look 30 something and you just a few years older” as he looked around the Doctors age, actually he looked a bit like Hugh Jackman in the movie ‘ _Van Helsing_ ’ his face was a different shape though.  
  
He had some freckles, and his skin like Tina’s was fair yet slightly tanned, his hair was a deep red though, the Doctor looked somewhat aristocratic, Salmarian was just good-looking.   
  
“ _Hmm_ yeah,” said Salmarian he looked at the Doctor “I _almost_ look like your brother, although I’m slightly taller”.  
  
The Doctor replied, “true, although I seem to remember been much shorter for some reason”.  
  
Sal said “you have been, you’re what? In your seventh or eighth incarnation by now?”.   
  
“Not sure what you mean,” the Doctor said with a deepening frown.  
  
Sal looked at Tina, who put her fingers to her lips and mouthed “I’ll explain later”.  
  
Sal frowned and said “I don’t know how you do it _honestly_! I’ve only been through it once and quite frankly I rather not go through that! **_Again_**! Any time soon, this is my second, and quite frankly I _like_ it”.  
  
Tina smiled “ _mm_ I have to agree”.  
  
Sal said, “We really ought to get into a shelter and quick, the Time Winds blow rather frequently around here and even though we’re generally protected, I still rather not be caught out in it, Crysta’s and I ship is this way”.


	7. The Intrepid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crystal and Sal get rescued.

He led them to what looked like the remaining hulk of a medium-sized Freighter and one they were all in, he closed the heavy metal door behind them just as the winds started to batter the outside hull.  
  
“Are you quite sure we’re safe in here?” Rast asked nervously.

“As safe as we can be,” Sal said, “the ships had it, it’ll never fly again, but for some reason, most of the inner areas survived enough for us to live here, but even it is starting to feel the effects of the Time Winds, only slower, we have to leave soon”.  
  
“Where are we?” Merlyn asked.  
  
Salmarian said “inside the time rift as near as I can figure on board the starship Tina and I designed. It’s like a pocket dimension that dragged us in when the **_Intrepid_ **got caught in it”.  
  
“How long have you been here?” the Doctor asked.   
  
“I’m not sure it’s timeless in here; I’ve gotten stuck inside this pocket dimension, we’ve been here a while though, I’ve managed to gain some control of the ship's functions. Trouble is something else is here as well”.  
  
“Can you leave?” Tina asked.  
  
“Yes, it’s just that the engine hasn’t opened till now, so I’ve been trapped here all this time. I don’t know how that happened though it just did”.  
  
“The **_Intrepid_** disappeared 60 years ago!” Tina said.  
  
“I haven’t been here that long!” he said, “the ship was a wreck when we got caught in the rift like I said I’ve gained some control of the functions of the ship”.  
  
“Then it was **you**!” Tina exclaimed, “ **you’re** the one who turned all the lights and the life support back on!”  
  
“Yes I sensed life aboard,” he said, “and well I am an Interfacer, talent I gained with this regen”.  
  
“You’re one helluva **_AI_**!” said Merlyn “so your been the ghost in the machine?”  
  
Salmarian shrugged “yes, and no, I am not the only one, trouble is due to me been able to gain some control over the ship's functions, the ship now can permanently travel in time, and I probably left some of myself in the machine, technically the ship now  
has Time Lord biodata, which has synthesised into a permanent AI, with elements of the original AI, yes I am technically the ghost in the machine, but I am not the only one, I wasn’t the one that caused it to travel in time in the first place though”.  
  
“So there is a bit of you in the ships AI?” Tina asked.  
  
“Yes,” he shrugged “we can’t let anyone else get it now, this ship is now essentially too dangerous for Earth to use anymore, especially now that it has Time Lord biodata in its system, we can’t let anyone else get a hold of it as well. It is now essentially keyed  
to me and even has its own telepathic circuit. I can control it”.  
  
“ _Why_ , though?” the Doctor asked.  
  
Salmarian said “it was **_trying_ **to kill us, the only way I could stop it was fighting it. So now, this ships AI has Time Lord Biodata, there is something else on this ship. Some evil I haven’t been able to find yet”.  
  
Tina said “Gosh Sal do you think it is possible to repair it?

Sal said “the ship is haunted by some malevolent force. I’ve been able to hold it at bay but haven’t been able to find it, given time we could probably repair it”.  
  
Tina said, “We could use it against the T’ron!”  
  
Sal nodded “ _any_ Time Lord could use it now. They just have to be Recognised as a Time Lord!”  
  
“Do you realise what you have **_done_**?” the Doctor asked, sounding disapproving.  
  
“Inadvertently but yes Doctor I do, which is why we can’t take it back to Earth,” Sal said, “ as to why it travelled in time in the first place that is still a mystery”.  
  
“But this place,” said Tina.  
  
Sal said, “I can’t explain that hopefully once we rid the ship of its ghosts, its rips will vanish, which is why we should leave”.  
  
“True enough,” Tina said.

** ** **The Intrepid**

A few hours later they all stood back in the engine room with what belongings both Crystal and Salmarian had between them, Tina meaning to close the engines again and became aware of the banging on the metal blast doors.  
  
Salmarian opened the doors once again proving that he indeed did have some control over the ship's functions and found out that they had been inside the rip for about 3 years and that a day had passed.  
  
“Wow!” said Crysta when she saw the date “2946!”  
  
“It didn’t seem that long” Sal mused.  
  
Once the doors were opened several leaders, and Zalaz came running in.  
  
“Where **_have_ **you been?” Captain Senoran demanded of them “the blast doors were closed and we haven’t been able to reach you”.  
  
“Long story,” Tina said, “Sen will **_X-Andra_ **object to two more crew?”  
  
“Huh?” Sen asked as he became aware of the strange red headed man and the teenage girl standing there “who are you?” he asked.  
  
Tina said “this is my husband Salmarian whom I thought dead, and what appears to be Rast and Merlyn’s sister, Crystal. Salmarian is our benevolent ‘ _ghost in the machine_ ’ well at least one”.  
  
Sen looked at the pair his eyes resting on Sal “Gods help us! _Another_ Time Lord!”  
  
Sal said, “uh yeah, how’d you guess?”  
  
Senoran groaned “just what we **_need_**! _ **Another**_ Time Lord! **One’s** bad enough! Let alone _three_! Isn’t there a law against that?”  
  
“Uh no, not really,” Salmarian said “I’m sorry if my presence offends you. But quite frankly I have nowhere else to go”.  
  
Sen chuckled “ ** _welcome aboard_ **Salmarian! You too Crystal, I’m Ambassador Senoran Starseer, Captain of the **_Xanadu_** ”.  
  
Salmarian said “you honour me Master Senoran” as he obviously recognised him as a Jedai Master, he bowed, so did Crysta.  
  
Senoran smiled and said “just what we need! **Another** meddling Time Lord! Well, you've come to the right place. Amongst the right people, noone will suspect another Gallifreyan amongst a ship of meddling Dorenganza. You’ll fit right in!”  
  
Salmarian said, “so my presence don’t offend?”

“Not at all!” Sen said “welcome aboard! I was just kidding around before. But to win this war, we are going to need all the help we can get; you’ll fit in nicely around here. Tina does so should you?  
  
Salmarian nodded, not sure what to make of this odd ambassador “how you know I was a Time Lord?”  
  
Sen said “I’m a Jedai Master, need you, _ask_? But seeing you did, two hearts, lower body temperature, and an aura that just blazes with life. Yep, you're a Time Lord alright, you have that ‘ _Time Lord_ ’ feel within the Force, I know what to look for now. Welcome  
aboard Salmarian of Gallifrey. So your our ‘ _ghost in the machine_ ’?”  
  
“Well actually I’m just one of them; the other one is evil and haunts the ship that is the one we have to find as it has some answers, only then can we actually used the ship properly in the way I designed the _**Intrepid**_ my knowledge will help due to the Time   
Lord Biodata.”.  
  
“Oh,” said Sen “you mean you’re the ships **_AI_**?”  
  
Salmarian shrugged “no the AI is itself, but it has gotten damaged or something. It’s now repaired, but it is also now entangled with my biodata, it was never meant to go in time, it now does, but I wasn’t the one that caused that to happen, that is still a  
mystery. Tina and I designed the ship to go into deep space; it is now capable of going beyond the barriers of time. But we can’t let Earth get it again nor our people, but maybe we don’t have to destroy her”.  
  
 **“** We could use her against the T’ron,” Tina said “essentially we have gotten Xanadu its first deep space ship/cum battle cruiser. It has some effective weapons on it as well”.  
  
Senoran said “Earth ain’t gonna like this, us acquiring a ship capable of going anywhere in Time and Space! They reckon us Xanaduens cause too much trouble as it is!”  
  
The Doctor spoke then “Salmarian you spoke of the Dorenganza?”

“Yes Crystal’s half of that race, as are those twins, who’re the Dorenganza?”  
  
Senoran chuckled “that’s us! **_We’re_ **the Dorenganza!”  
  
“Pardon?”  
  
Senoran explained “most people know us as the **_Xanaduens_** , we called our world **_Xanadu_** , thus _Xanaduens_ , that is what CAW know us as, as our real name is rather long and complicated. Dorenganza is the closest we can get to it, not a lot of the people know   
us as the Dorenganza, nor have seen the side of us you are seeing”.  
  
Salmarian said, “from what I know of the _Xanaduens_ , you have a reputation for been shapeshifters, troublemakers, pranksters, mysterious and elusive”.  
  
 **“** Er yeah, uh that’s not entirely untrue or unearned, to be honest, but the truth is we’re probably the most powerful race in this universe, even more so than the Sardran, noone believes it of us though,” Sen said, “you Time Lords are our equivalent”.  
  
The Doctor said “believe them, **_I_** do, I have met a lot of races who claim to the ‘ _most powerful in the universe_ ’, but when the Xanaduens claim it I believe it, maybe it is because they do so without boasting and because no one else believes them. Powerful   
allies indeed”.   
  
“Least of all Earth,” Tina said, “ the Xanaduens were told to leave Earth and not come back until the war was over, too much trouble to have around during an invasion and they are probably the only race who can save Earth because they know the enemy”.  
  
“The T’ron,” said Senoran “are our equals and our opposites. The real invaders, **not** the Scorpionoids. Maybe you are right; maybe we should fix this ship and use it to fight the T’ron. The Xanadu will fit quite nicely beside this one. How many were on board?”  
  
“500,” said Tina.   
  
“The **Xanadu** have nowhere _near_ that many,” said Senoran “we could probably tow her though until we get it working again. We need to clear the ghosts and that and get her systems operational. Salmarian and Crystal need to report to Medlab for  
examination by Dr Lunn-Lunn, I will see about getting you some quarters”.  
  
“Ok,” said Salmarian.  
  



	8. The Xanadu- Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lengthy Chapter!  
> Back on the Xanadu  
> Tina and Salmarian get to know each other again (fade to black)  
> The reunited siblings get to know each other and get to spend some time with the Doctor

“Two hearts, respiratory bypass system, orange-red blood, Artron energy, psychic abilities, heightened strength, heightened senses, lower body temp, a knack for getting in trouble and a perchance for Science, Time-Sensitive and biology that _defies_ description” Lunn-Lunn reported, “yep you two are _Time Lords_ alright, Salmarian and Crystal”.  
  
Salmarian smiled at the dragon-like female checking him over “so what race are you?”  
  
Lunn-Lunn chuckled “Dorenganza, I just prefer Leetan Sea-Dragon form, guess I am one of the few who prefers a non-humanoid form, unlike most of us who do prefer a humanoid form of some form or another” she checked her readouts “you two seem  
pretty Ok despite been stuck in a time rift for three years, I don’t know a lot about _Time Lords_. But you seem healthy enough”.   
  
“Thanks,” said Salmarian.  
  
Lunn-Lunn smiled at him, caught in his Time Lord gaze, Salmarian had grey-blue eyes that seemed to see right through you, she was willing to bet he could put on a genuinely piercing stare.  
  
Lunn-Lunn asked, “so what incarnation are you?”  
  
“Second” he replied “this is my second self, that’s counting the original _me_ ” he shrugged “it’s confusing I know, even I find it a little _confusing_. Regeneration is a gamble, you never know what you are going to get”.  
  
“You know it’s a pretty _amazing_ ability you have there,” she said.  
  
Salmarian shrugged “true, but it is still a gamble, thanks um, are we free to go?”  
  
“Yes,” she said.  
  
“And my companion?”  
  
“She’s fine; she’s a _teenager_ , what else you expect? But _there_ is no doubt in my mind that she is Quinawah’s and Tilanthalas’s blood sister though, the biodata, her DNA and body makeup matches a Gallifreyan/ Dorenganza crossbreed, and her DNA matches theirs, she’s their sister alright. Where did you find her?”  
  
“EITS, all alone, a waif, trying to survive, she’d been alone for quite some time it seems, just after the War on Crasolia. She’s Force Sensitive and Force trained but not Jedaini, Force Adepts I think they call them”. 

“Yes, _Force Adept_ , you are correct, she doesn’t quite have the training Rast and Merlyn do, poor little thing,” she said.   
  
“She’s a little scared of her powers,” said Salmarian “I took her on and gave her a job and a place to live. She was about 11 or 12 at the time, we’ve been together ever since. She’s my companion and believe me you don’t find many renegade Time Lords  
 _without_ one. Probably how _those_ three were born in the **first place**! I’m very fond of her, she sort of like the daughter I never got around to having”.  
  
“She’s fine, and there is no doubt that she is Rast’s and Merlyn’s sister”.   
  
“Thank you Lunn-Lunn,” he said, “may I go?”  
  
Lunn-Lunn grinned “how like a Time Lord! You’re free to go! And well welcome aboard the **_Xanadu_ ”.   
  
**“Thank you,” he said “I have about 100 years of catching up to do! And a wife I have to get to know again! Regeneration **_really is_** the Pits at time!”  
  
Lunn-Lunn said “Ok”.  
  
Salmarian chuckled “thankyou Lunn-Lunn”.  
  
He got up and walked out of Medlab and said, “Locate Tina for me?” he said to the air, knowing the ship had some kind of AI.   
  
_“Tina is located on Gold Deck, which is Deck Five, you should find her quarters there Salmarian_ ” _**X-ANDRA**_ replied.  
  
“How do you know who I am?” Salmarian asked her.

 _“I know everyone who’s on Board Salmarian, Welcome aboard, I am **X-Andra** the ships AI, _nothing _gets past me! **”  
  
**_ **“** **You’re** a Sentient Lifeform aren’t you? Not just a computer, you're the ship itself, aren’t you? You’re a _Leviathan_ , or some similar lifeform aren’t you, only altered somewhat?”  
  
 ** _“_** _Yes, **”**_ she replied.   
  
“Thought as much, _so_ the Dorenganza really _are_ the masters of biotechnology? To a level that the humans haven’t even _mastered_ yet? You’re pretty much organic aren’t you, only enclosed in a protective shell or casing of some sort?”  
  
 _“I am mainly Organic yes”_ she replied.   
  
“ _Fascinating_ ,” said Salmarian, “I really must get to know this race better!”  
  
 _“You have the chance too, Tina is one of them, or so she feels, and as for you, well the Dorenganza pretty much adopt any newcomer’.  
  
_ “ _The most powerful race in the universe_ ” Salmarian echoed “only none would believe it of them, no wonder the Doctor is fascinated by them, thankyou **_X-ANDRA,_** ” said Salmarian.  
  
 _“Your welcome Salmarian”_ she replied.  
  
Sal walked towards one of the lifts and pushed a button to open it and waited, the elevator arrived, the door opened, and the Doctor was the other passenger.  
  
Salmarian took a deep breath and entered the lift, not sure what to say, this was **The Doctor**! _Himself_ in the flesh! A person both whom he and Tina had always admired and thought a legend.  
  
“Hello,” said the Doctor.  
  
Salmarian said “G’day, look I....” darn my _Australian_ accent he thought.  
  
 **“** You’re looking for Tina, right?” the Doctor asked.  
  
“Yes,” said Salmarian

“We’re on the same level, I’ll take you to her, we’re neighbours” he waved a hand “the ships idea apparently, most extraordinary”.  
  
Sal said “Pardon me for sounding stupid here or something, but you don’t know how much of an **_honour_** it is for me to finally meet you! I mean you’re **The Doctor**!!!”  
  
The Doctor shook his hand ‘you don’t know how much it means to me to finally meet _you_!”  
  
“I’m _nobody_!” said Salmarian.   
  
“Not to Tina!” he said, “Tina talks about you all the time, she never stopped loving you, you know”.   
  
**“** She does?”  
  
“Yes,” he said, “the ship, The **_INTREPID,_** _your_ design, I believe?”  
  
Sal nodded “yes, it was”.   
  
**“** You have an admirable understanding of Quantum Physics then,” he said, “Tina said you did”.  
  
Sal said, “very well”.   
  
“Here’s our level,” he said, “come I’ll take you to Tina”.  
  
“Thank you,” said Salmarian.  
  
The Doctor nodded to himself and then added “maybe we should all meet up later somewhere, to get to know each other a bit more. I’ve been helping the Xanaduens with the T’ron”.  
  
“I’d like that,” said Salmarian.  
  
The Doctor stopped at the door “those are Tina’s quarters, I’m next door, go and see your wife.”  
  
 **“** Thank you, Doctor,” said Salmarian entering the quarters, finding that the lights were turned low, candles were burning as was incense and the sound of a bath been filled in the adjoining room and ‘ _their song’ **UNCHAINED MELODY**_ was playing gently  
through the room.  
  
“Tina?” he asked.  
  
Tina came out clad only in a bathrobe and smiled at him, her whole face lighting up “ _Salmarian_!!” she said.  
  
Salmarian looked around and asked, “are you sure this is _appropriate_?”

Tina said “oh, come on! Don’t tell me you've gotten all stuffy with this regeneration!!!”  
  
“Well no, well at least I _don’t_ think so, but....”  
  
Tina came up to him “Sal it’s been close on **100 years**! I’ve missed you so much!”  
  
Salmarian smiled at her “I missed you too; I guess I am still absorbing it all that we’re both still alive! Albeit changed somewhat, and that my love for you is still as strong as it ever was, maybe even more!”  
  
Tina said, “mine too!”  
  
Sal said, “oh Tina, you don’t know how much it means to be reunited with you again!” he took her hands “my hearts are _yours_! They always have been! Long have I dreamed that we would be together again?”  
  
Tina giggled “you become quite the romantic; it seems with this incarnation!”  
  
Sal said, “so have you it seems, who says Time Lords don’t know passion or how to love?”  
  
Tina said, “come on, I want to see what that gorgeous new body of yours is capable of doing!”  
  
Sal shrugged “what it’s always been capable of I guess, and besides, I am not the only one who's got a new body! Tina, what is it for you?”  
  
Tina said, “second, it was my first time I went through regen, I ended up with post regen trauma”.  
  
Sal said, “so did I, not fun is it?”  
  
“No,” she said.  
  
He kissed her “at least we are together again; maybe we can finally get around to having that child we never thought we have”.  
  
Tina nodded “not at the moment though, I’m willing to practise though”.  
  
He smiled and said “me too” he kissed her “come on” she led him into the bathroom where a warm spa sat, filled to the top with bubbles and scented oils.  
  
Sal said “man am I looking forward to that! All I have managed to have these last two years is showers using _recycled_ water!”  
  
Tina said “good” she let her robe drop and started to help him with his clothes.

“So what you think they’ll do?” Rastalin asked Merlyn, as he, Crystal, and Merlyn all sat in Stardust’s together, using the lull in the action to get to know each other.  
  
“Probably make love,” said Merlyn “who _wouldn’t_? After been separated for that long!”  
  
“I would,” said Rast.  
  
Crystal asked then “so do we get our own **_TARDIS_**?”  
  
Merlyn chuckled “Fraid not Crystal, we get to use Tina’s though, I can even fly it, sorta!”  
  
“ _Damn_!” she said “you know this is almost too good to be true! I _have_ two brothers!”  
  
Merlyn said “how you think we’re feeling? How much younger than us are you?”  
  
“I’m 90,” she said.   
  
“Almost 96 here, why did they separate us?” Rast asked.  
  
“Maybe they were afraid of something,” Merlyn said “, or something happened”.  
  
Crystal said “I grew up on Crasolia, my Guardian she was a Scientist, I have these strange powers I’m a little afraid of. The Jedai have always fascinated me!”  
  
Rastalin said, “so you recognise us for Jedai?”  
  
She nodded and said “it’s not like it’s not obvious!” she said, indicating their clothes.  
  
Merlyn said, “you have it too, Crystal”.  
  
She said, “most call me Crysta though, but are we _really_ Time Lords like the Professor and Tina and the Doctor?”  
  
Merlyn nodded “apparently so, well at least half Gallifreyan not sure if we’re _Time Lords_ yet! We have all their powers and their physiology”.  
  
“You have two hearts as well?”  
  
“Yep,” said Merlyn” only reason why I’m still alive actually after I got shot in the heart a couple of weeks ago. Time Lord Physiology, it was the only thing that saved me” he replied looking up from the object he was adjusting with his sonic screwdriver, he’d  
gotten hold of Tina’s and using its design he had made his own.   
  
“What are you doing?” Rast asked.  
  
“Making a tracker for Crysta,” said Merlyn.   
  
“I swear you grow more like _The Doctor_ every day!” Rast groaned “mind you! He’s always been like the Doctor!”  
  
“Which is why my nickname is Merlyn, mind you I prefer ‘ _Merlyn_ ’ over my real name, which is Quinawah, and it is also why I’m a Consular and you’re a Guardian brother dear,” Merlyn said, “you love the martial side of things, whereas I am more the Diplomat”.  
  
“You’re also a damn good Technician!” Rastalin said.  
  
Merlyn shrugged “ _Hmm_ ”.  
  
Crysta asked, “are you, two Knights?”  
  
“Us! Hell no! Not yet at least, soon though we hope, we are Senior Apprentices though” said Rastalin “means we are just off taking our final trials, which pretty much means we can be trusted to look after ourselves and do things like missions and that on our  
own”.  
  
“Master Casamir always says that if we see a situation, we feel we can handle on our own as Jedai Knights to do so” Merlyn continued “it was how I got shot”.  
  
“So you aren’t Knights yet?”  
  
“No not officially yet, soon though we hope,” Rastalin said.   
  
“OK that should do it,” said Merlyn closing the lid down and turning off his sonic screwdriver “this is a time anomaly tracker; we are all carrying one at the moment, Crysta”.   
  
  
“What it do?”  
  
“Track Time Anomalies” Merlyn said “we've all got them at the moment, because there seem to be some awful time leakages at the moment, probably caused by the T’ron stuffing around with the Time/Space Continuum, and only we Time Lords can pick  
them up because we remain unaffected” he handed it to his sister “keep it on you” he shrugged “sorry it ain’t a puppy or a kitten or something nice like that, but well there _is_ a war out there”.  
  
Crysta said, “so we really **_are_** Time Lords?”  
  
“Yeah,” said Merlyn “we are, or at the least Half Gallifreyan”.   
  
“Gee,” she said.  
  
Merlyn said “well half at least, you're like us Crysta, Tina reckons we’re the future, something’s happened to the Time Lords or **_will_** happen depends on how time flows between this universe and theirs. Tina reckons, we are the future”.  
  
“The Prof was always saying that something had happened or will, he just didn’t know what or when,” she said.   
  
“ _Hmm_ , look Crysta go easy on the Doc as well, he’s suffered some deep trauma, and he’s lost his memory, I think he’s connected somehow,” said Merlyn.  
  
“The Doc?” she asked.   
  
“The tall, brown-headed man, the one whom Sal looks a bit like and dresses similar to, The Doctor” Merlyn said.  
  
“You mean he’s _that_ Doctor!” Crysta exclaimed.   
  
“Um yeah,” said Merlyn “our universe runs parallel to his which is why he’s a legend here, we’re the Time Lords of this galaxy, the Dorenganza and is probably why we are half Gallifreyan, so easy on him Crysta”.   
  
“You’re even beginning to **_sound_** like the Doctor!” Rast groaned.  
  
Merlyn chuckled “sorry Rast”.   
  
“Speak of the devil!” said Rastalin as the Doctor walked into _Stardust’s_ , spotting them he came over.   
  
“Looking for some company?” Merlyn asked.  
  
He replied, “I asked **_X-Andra_** where the most likely place that three separated Siblings was most likely convene to get to know each other more, and she sent me here”.  
  
“X is good at that,” said Merlyn “tea?”  
  
“Yes,” said the Doctor which Merlyn punched in their order on the console on the table.  
  
“It’ll come when it is ready,” he said, “were you looking for some company?”  
  
The Doctor nodded “yes I guess I was, even unconsciously” he shrugged “what can I say, I miss my companion”.  
  
“You’re feeling a little out of your league aren’t you?” Merlyn asked.  
  
“More than a little” he admitted, “this is your world, not mine, maybe Tina is right, maybe you three are our future”.  
  
Rast said “ _hmm_ perhaps” he indicated Crysta “we’re clued her in on what we are trying to achieve with the Time Anomalies. She can help us”.  
  
The Doctor smiled his beautiful smile at Crysta “maybe you can, young lady”.  
  
Crysta said, “I’d like too, I’m still getting over the fact that I have _brothers!”  
_  
“Family is important,” said the Doctor with a nod ‘you’re lucky you found yours”.  
  
Crysta said, “yeah, I have _**brothers**!_”

“And we have a sister!” said Merlyn “ _Firesongs_ rule!”  
  
The Doctor smiled “that they do” he said quietly.   
  
“You Ok Doc?” Merlyn asked, always the most empathic out of him and Rast.  
  
“Yes,” he said, “I just _wish_ , oh never mind, how far we off Arcanum?”  
  
“ETA is in about 6 hours” Merlyn replied, “we’ll be there in the morning”.  
  
“Ok,” he said, “maybe I just feel the need to be doing something” he shrugged “I don’t think I have ever been any good at being still”.  
  
“You haven’t,” Rast said.  
  
He nodded “I thought not”.  
  
“Rast’s a bit like that,” Merlyn said, “Casamir can never get him to stay still”.  
  
“Another reason why you’re the Consular and I’m the Guardian,” said Rast.  
  
“Yeah I admit I do tend to spend a lot of time contemplating the nature of the Way, Rast just uses it” Merlyn admitted.   
  
“Yeah,” said Rast.   
  
“And what of you Crystal? “The Doctor asked her.  
  
“Me!” she said, “um I’m a little scared of what I can do!” she shrugged “the Professor taught me a lot though”.  
  
“ _Hmm_ ,” said the Doctor “would you wish to know more?”  
  
She shrugged “maybe” she looked at him “how about you, Doctor?”  
  
“How about me what?” he asked.  
  
“Are you Psychic?”  
  
The Doctor shrugged “I’m not sure, I could be considered so I guess especially in this _universe_! I’m a Scientist, so I generally don’t contemplate much on the more esoteric subjects. I’ll leave that to the likes of you”.  
  
Crystal said “Ok”.   
  
“Call it _scientific curiosity_ if you will,” he said, “besides right now I think there are more important concerns at hand here, then whether I’m psychic or not, the presences on the **_INTREPID_** for one and the T’ron”.  
  
“Ghosts,” Merlyn said.   
  
“I don’t believe in ghosts,” he said, “psychic impressions perhaps, incorporeal beings even, impressions left behind perhaps, but not ghosts”.  
  
“They’re ghosts” Rast insisted.  
  
“Ghosts exist in this Universe Doctor,” Merlyn said quietly.  
  
“I still refuse to believe they are ghosts” he insisted and looked a little confused and frustrated when all three kids cracked up.  
  
Doc! They’re **_Ghosts_**!” Merlyn said.  
  
“Very well, if they are ghosts there is always a scientific explanation for any so-called ‘ _Ghost_ ’ “ he continued “ and I intend to find it”.  
  
“Ghosts exist!” Merlyn insisted “this isn’t your universe remember? It’s a Parallel universe, the rules are different”.  
  
“Yes, that is true, but all universes have certain elements in them that can be explained by scientific means. Merlyn how am I ever going to turn you into a scientist if you insist on such things”.  
  
“Doc, ghosts exist as does magic,” Merlyn said, “it’s like the Way it just _is_!”  
  
“Merlyn,” said the Doctor “everything that appears to be ‘ _magic_ , usually has a scientific explanation”.  
  
“Not here it don’t,” said Merlyn “magic is what it appears to be...magic,” Merlyn said, “there are certain....forces...in the universe, that simply can’t be explained, thus magic”.  
  
“Merlyn,” said the Doctor.   
  
“He’s right Doc,” said Rast, “magic exists”.  
  
The Doctor sighed “I expect you all think it is magic, having grown up here, I can’t blame any of you for that, but most so-called ‘ _magic_ ’ has a scientific explanation. I am willing to concede that Psychic ability exists I have seen enough of that to know that   
exists, but **magic** , that I am not ready to admit too”.   
  
“Magic exists,” said Merlyn “the rules are different here, as do ghosts, so do Elves, Dwarves and Unicorns! You should see _our_ Earth!”  
  
“Elves, Dwarves and Unicorns?” the Doctor said, “now come on Merlyn!”  
  
Merlyn said “it’s true! And does have a scientific explanation! _Evolution_! Even you can’t deny that exists! The truth of the matter is that Evolution happened slightly different in this universe as did history to some extent, the Elves, Halflings, Gnomes, dwarves,  
the Fey and even our race the Dorenganza, are known as the Elder Races, the humans are the younger race, noone knows where the Elder Races came from if indeed they did come from anywhere! They have always _been_ there! The Dorenganza are planar   
that’s why we’re considered Elder Race as well”.  
  
“Is that so?”  
  
“Yes,” said Merlyn” Tina will back me up on that one! She been to and lived on our Earth! And has lived amongst the Dorenganza for almost a century, we class her as one of us!”  
  
The Doctor nodded “very well, but just how different is your Earth?”  
  
Merlyn looked thoughtful then said “ not that vastly different in many ways actually, humans are and always will be the dominant race, but they share it with the Elder Races, Magic does exist as do ghosts. Both World Wars happened on schedule as it is  
written. However, WW2 did end about six months earlier, meaning the atom bomb was developed a little earlier. The Titanic did indeed sink in 1912 at the same time, and the Hindenburg did explode on schedule, although; not quite so many died on the  
Titanic as the rescuers reacted a little quicker than they did on your Earth, September 11, 2001, also happened the same time and in the same way with the same result. But then things started to change around the 21st century. Earth was offered   
membership into CAW, and well-seeing aliens and humans had been living together side by side peacefully for quite some time by then, they even fought with the humans in the World Wars, as many of them had adopted Earth as their own planet, it was   
called _Project Earth_ by the way. It had been going for quite some time. Earth then started to change in many ways, for the better; Earth became a full member in the early 22nd. Earth is not a Utopia don’t think that, but it is a totally different world to Earth  
you know, at this current point in history. You really have to see it for yourself before you leave to understand.”  
  
“Maybe I will, just how _different_ are we talking about here?” he asked.   
  
“You’d like it,” said Crysta then “you really would!” she paused then continued “you always said that humans had such great potential, if only they learnt from their mistakes. The Professor has always said the same thing, in our universe well the humans have  
learnt from their mistakes! And are reaching towards their full potential if they haven’t already done so”.  
  
“The _Professor_?” the Doctor asked, somehow the way she said it had struck a chord in him, stirred a memory perhaps, of a young human girl calling someone else ‘ _The Professor_ ’, calling **_him_** ‘ _Professor_ ’?  
  
“Salmarian!” said Crysta “who else? He’s always reminded me of a slightly absentminded professor or something, so I call him the Professor, but the truth of the matter is he can do anything, especially now he’s got his ship back!”  
  
“Tina’s ship” Rast reminded her.   
  
“Actually I think Tina sees it as ‘ _theirs_ ’ “said Merlyn “and now ‘ _ours_ ’ seeing I can fly it”.   
  
“You can fly a Tardis?” Crysta asked astounded and awed, was there anything her newly found brothers couldn’t do! The fact that they were Jedai was cool enough!  
  
“Merlyn can, I can’t,” Rastalin said “can fly a space fighter though, and pretty damn good at that! Actually, we’re both pretty good at that”.  
  
Crysta asked, “you can fly a Tardis Merlyn?”  
  
“Well yeah, kinda,” said Merlyn “Tina’s is a type 40 like the Doc’s; I learnt how to fly it”.   
  
“That’s why they call him _Merlyn_!” Rastalin said.  
  
“Actually,” said the Doctor “I’m amazed that you can fly a **_TARDIS_** as well Merlyn”.   
  
“It was easy once I figured out how,” Merlyn said “so Tina seeing this started to teach me, **_Tardis_** mechanics. If we ever get one of our own, this is probably unlikely. I’ll know how to fly it. I’m currently learning all the functions and that though, although I   
suspect that Tina doesn’t know all the functions herself!”  
  
“I can’t believe that you can fly a **_Tardis_**!” Crysta said then.  
  
“I have my own telepathic link to Tina’s now as well, so it makes it easier,” Merlyn said, “I often say if they put plates on **_TARDIS_** ’s I’d probably still be on an ‘L”, they all laughed at the image they all got of a picture of a Tardis with ‘L’ plates on it, even the  
Doctor laughed at the image he got.   
  
“That is quite a good one” the Doctor, remmarked “more tea or chocolate anyone?”  
  
They all gave him their orders, and he keyed it into the menu pad on the table.   
  
He was enjoying the company of the three youngsters, Tina’s right, he mused he always had a soft spot for young people and humans, granted these three weren’t human, but they were young.   
  
He could see why both Tina and Salmarian had laid claims to these three, especially Merlyn, the lad was a genius!  
  
“How long have you known that Salmarian was a Time Lord?” Merlyn asked Crysta.  
  
“Ever since we started to travel together” she replied “I’m his companion, he found me alone and orphaned on EITS after the war on Crasolia, and offered me a place to stay, a job, training and a chance to see the galaxy. He made a good living as an  
Information trader and freighter pilot, and he had his own Freighter. Some of the stuff we have seen and done! It’s _amazing_ , I love the Professor, he’s my mentor and friend, and he says I am the daughter he never had”.   
  
“Daughter” the Doctor echoed quietly “ _Granddaughter_ ”.  
  
“Doc you ok?” Rast asked.  
  
“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” he said, “tell me more about ‘ _your_ _’_ Earth”.  
  
“You really have to see it to believe it,” said Merlyn “unfortunately we can’t go back at the moment, seeing CAW kicked us off the Earth! Claiming _we were too much trouble to have around during an invasion_ , Gee! Rast and I can’t even shapeshift properly!”  
  
“You can’t?” the Doctor asked, “Tina said you barely ever do”.  
  
“I can’t either,” said Crysta “when it comes to being a Xanaduen. I’m really flawed”.   
  
“You too, huh?” Merlyn asked, “nice to know it’s not just us”.  
  
“I’ve never been able to Shapechange properly,” she said, “I thought something was wrong with me”.  
  
Merlyn said, “you’re not alone there Crysta, Rast and I can’t shift properly either”.  
  
The Doctor asked’ what do you mean?”  
  
Merlyn replied “shapeshifting it is our very being, but Rast and I seem limited in what we can do, our bodies don’t seem to like being anything but the humanoid form, we can turn ourselves into an Orc or something but anything like a Beholder we simply  
can’t do it! We can take the animal form to a certain extent but not indefinitely, and we can’t take inanimate object shape at all. Taking human shape or anything resembling human shape is fine, like an Elf or a Half-Elf or in our case Gorta-Trellian but too  
much altering leaves us dizzy. We can alter our body parts and do stuff like make ourselves incorporeal or take whirlwind shape though, but, we are limited in what we can manage. We can’t seem to take raw unshaped Dorenganza form, no matter how hard  
we try. We seem limited to human form and to some extent animal, we’re flawed”.  
  
“Oh,” he said.  
  
“I think that is what been half alien has done to us,” Merlyn said, “especially seeing Crysta has the same problem”.  
  
The Doctor nodded “perhaps alien blood can do that to you”.  
  
Rast said, “in reflection, it’s not too bad a trade-off though, we can do and see stuff other Dorenganza can’t”.  
  
Merlyn nodded “yes but it also makes us mortal, if we die, we may regenerate”.  
  
Rast looked thoughtful “true enough”.   
  
“Rast I was shot in the heart remember? Dorenganza are hard to kill, I was put in a hospital, most of us would have walked away from that unharmed, and I _didn’t_! It was enough to send me into shutdown! And then I was almost killed! It was only Time Lord   
physiology and the training we’re gotten as Adepts that saved me! We don’t have the Dorenganza immortality, we can **_die_!**”  
  
The Doctor said, “I don’t quite understand that bit, are you saying that the Dorenganza are immortal?”  
  
“Yes, to a point, there are only a few things that can kill them and well they can also choose to die. Some of us are 1000’s of years old! Dorenganza are virtually immortal when they reach maturity. Rast and I are not! And probably nor is Crysta”.  
  
“True enough,” Crysta said.  
  
The Doctor said, “I think you three are unique, revel in that, as to immortality well you are sort of if you like me, Tina and Sal you are also well in many ways immortal, in many regards you have swapped one form of immortality for another”.  
  
“The truth is none of us fully know who we are anymore,” Merlyn said soberly.  
  
“You are who you have always been,” he said, “that in _itself_ should answer your question.”


	9. 13th January 2946-Arcanum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Crew finally arrive on Arcanum

“Where you say we were again?” the Doctor asked as he stepped out of his Tardis, just as Tina stepped out of hers marvelling at Tina’s simple invention that had allowed their two ships to follow each other through the vortex.  
  
“World called **_Arcanum_** ” Tina replied “you’ll like it here Doc, very late 19th century Victorian. We call these type of worlds _Steam Punk_ or _Gothic_ , very Victorian but only on the surface. Magic works here just as well as it does anywhere else in the universe”.   
  
“That is what I don’t understand, this ‘ _magic_ ’ you speak so lightly of. I have been too many worlds that claim to have ‘ _magic_ ’, but here it seems almost a strong force almost like it actually exists” the Doctor remmarked.  
  
“It does, and it is,” Tina said “I’m a Bard, I can use this dimensions magic, my songs have power, guess it is kind of like the Way in many ways, you either have it or you don’t” she smoothed down her dress, the dress she had donned to fit into the world.  
  
The clothes weren’t so constricting or as modest as they had been on Earth during the real Victorian era for a woman meaning (much to Tina’s and Crysta’s relief) an ordinary Bra and knickers were quite acceptable.  
  
The dress was blue with three-quarter sleeves and pearl buttons, it looked beautiful on Tina, Crysta was dressed similarly.   
  
Crysta had flatly refused to wear a pinafore, but Tina had pointed out that Crysta appeared quite old enough to be dressed like a young lady “ _your sixteen or seventeen equivalent_ ” she had said ‘ _in Victorian times you would have been considered quite old_ _enough to be of marriageable age and ready for your first Season, so a dress will be quite acceptable, and it will be quite acceptable for a young woman of your age to be walking around accompanied by your older brothers_ ”.  
  
Crysta was in a rose and cream dress that Tina had found her.  
  
It had then been a question of what the boys would wear, the Doctor had offered to open up his own wardrobe for them, but Tina had said: “your Jedaini robes will be quite acceptable, just make it clear you’re Jedai”.  
  
So both boys were in their Jedai robes, Merlyn in grey-blue over white and Rastalin in black and grey.  
  
The Doctor, who as usual was dressed in his usual clothes said “are you sure their robes are acceptable?” he asked Tina.  
  
Tina laughed and said, “Doc this ain’t Victorian Earth” he would have to get used to been called ‘ _Doc_ ’ he reasoned, he couldn’t seem to stop Tina calling him that, nor the twins, “this is Arcanum it only looks Victorian, the Jedai are well known here and   
respected, noone will think anything odd of Merlyn and Rastalin. If anything dressed as Jedai it’ll be a boon for all of us all. You're a stranger here, stick around you will soon realise just how much pull been Jedai has here. In this universe, you saw how Sal  
reacted when he first met Merlyn and Rastalin”.  
  
The Doctor said “Tina I really wish you would stop calling me ‘ _Doc_ ’ your already make such a mess of the English language, using slang like you do. It’s ‘ ** _Doctor_** ’, not ‘ _Doc’_!”  
  
Tina said, “I’m Australian, get used to it”.  
  
“You should know better!” he chided.  
  
Tina laughed “Sorry Doc” he frowned, she ignored him.  
  
“Well, at least your husband speaks _English_ properly,” the Doctor said.   
  
“Only because he has something of a British accent,” Tina said she turned to Sal, “say where did you get that sexy accent anyway?”  
  
Sal shrugged “it came with the package; the Doctor sounds faintly Irish or Welsh”.  
  
“I do?” he asked.   
  
“Yeah,” said Salmarian “somewhat, Tina’s accent is pure Aussie though, you can tell because it doesn’t sound like any other accent in the world, doesn’t quite sound British, or American or European, it’s uniquely its own. You can put on a British or American  
or European accent. But an Australian one is hard to put on correctly unless you’re born with it or have lived there long enough to acquire it. Tina’s is Australian, clearly came with the package as well”.  
  
Tina said “yeah whatever. I kinda like the British one you’re got now though”.   
  
“Well, stop _mangling_ the English language then!” the Doctor said.  
  
“Sorry, Doc, no can do,” Tina said with a grin.  
  
Salmarian said ‘you’ll get used to it”.  
  
The Doctor said, “I am still going to try and correct it, Tina, you should know better!”  
  
“And you’re so very _English_!” Tina retorted the Doctor gave up.  
  
Salmarian remarked “I’m afraid there is no hope there” Tina dug him in the ribs.  
  
“ _Children_!” the Doctor murmured.  
  
“Let’s check this **joint** **_out_**!” said Rastalin then, the Doctor frowned at him as well.  
  
Tina grinned as she saw he had done it on purpose to rile the Doctor and had to smile, despite everything, Rast and Merlyn would always be Dorenganza, it was the core of who they both were, as Merlyn and Crysta both laughed as they got the joke.  
  
Even Salmarian joined in, the Doctor, of course, ignored them, either not getting the joke or choosing not to, it was hard to tell with him.  
  
The Doctor spoke again “do we have any idea what we are looking for?”  
  
Tina said, “we are all picking up Time eddies, so my guess is the T’ron are here somewhere”.  
  
Merlyn remarked, “it is kind of hard to track down an enemy who has the same powers as you do”.  
  
“No doubt,” said Salmarian “The Doctor and the Master are perfect examples of that”.   
  
“There is definitely something wrong with time here I feel” the Doctor, remmarked.  
  
“Me too,” said Merlyn, making the Doctor look at him.   
  
“You do?” he asked.  
  
“Yes,” said Merlyn. He shrugged: maybe it’s my attunement to the force or something”.  
  
“Tina shook her head “no Merlyn it is your Time Lord blood.  
  
“Kid, we’ll turn you into a Time Lord yet,” said Salmarian “that goes for all three of you”.  
  
“Are you sure that is wise?” Rastalin asked.  
  
Salmarian said, “we have too, you three are our responsibility, and you are quite possibly our future”.

“Actually Casamir’s still legally responsible for us,” said Merlyn “he’s technically our legal guardian until we’re 100”.  
  
Sal said, “Tina and I feel responsible for you as well, especially seeing I was the one who declared myself Crysta’s guardian, although technically seeing she is your sister, she falls under Casamir’s jurisdiction as well”.  
  
“Shame we’re still all too young to make our own decisions on whom we want as a guardian,” Crysta remarked, “I’ve spent years travelling with the Professor”.  
  
“I don’t think Casamir intends to take you away from me, Crysta,” said Sal.  
  
“I hope not,” she said.

“There are three Time Lords, two Jedai and one Force Adept at this table; surely we can come up with something _resembling_ a plan!” Salmarian said with a sigh a little later.   
  
“Do we _actually_ know what we are looking for?” the Doctor asked then.   
  
“More of those emissions that bought us here,” Tina said stirring her Irish Nut Crème; nothing could still beat a decent coffee even 900 years later and 500 light years.  
  
The six of them were sitting in the outside eatery area of a _Cafe_ on Arcanum.  
  
It was a truly gorgeous day, warm and sunny, Victorian seeming the planet may be on the surface in many ways as Tina had said to the Doctor it was only outwardly, the shops here, however, were the same as one could find anywhere in the galaxy on   
Terran Colony worlds, like Saris, Arcanum was one of the outer, middle rim worlds.  
  
The Doctor had decided he liked it here; it reminded him of England in his favourite period, only without the downside.  
  
Steam trains ran along the tracks (or they _appeared_ to be steam trains at any rate), horse-drawn carriages replaced cars, elegantly dressed people wandered around everywhere, but, it also had all the modern-day facilities of the 30th century just cleverly disguised and working in harmony.|  
  
Tina had referred to this world as ‘ _Steampunk_ ’ or ‘ _Quasi Victorian_ ’ the Doctor still hadn’t come quite to grips with what she meant, her language to him was a little strange, but, none the less, the clothes, the vehicles, were all outwardly Victorian era, late   
19th century but actually wasn’t.  
  
Tina had also said that like most worlds the Xanaduens frequented it was an outlying world and off significant routes, it also meant the Xanaduens hadn’t been banned from Arcanum yet not that that would stop them frequenting it anyway.  
  
They all seemed to blend in too, even the twins in their Jedai robes and as Tina had predicted it had proven a boon having the twins along as everyone seemed to recognise them as Jedai Apprentices.  
  
It was proving that they did indeed have some considerable pull.

They had all been treated with the utmost respect and Merlyn true to form had taken full advantage of that fact and had gotten them more information than even the Doctor would have.  
  
“He has the same effect on people you do,” said Tina voicing his unspoken thought “wherever he goes he changes things. He lights the rooms up with his eyes, I don’t know whether you realise this Doctor, but you have the same effect on people, only it’s so  
much stronger, you change them forever, Merlyn has the same gift you do, he hasn’t fully come into it yet but he will, like you he has this extraordinary power, he is basically a young you in many ways, why do you think I want them as companions?”  
  
The Doctor looked at her “are you reading my mind?”  
  
“Not really, but I am a P4, after living here for so long my PSI powers had developed somewhat. I sometimes pick up surface thoughts, I don’t intend it to happen though, and maybe it is because we are both Time Lords. I regenerated here, so I am bound  
here to this dimension. Also, I am a Bard, and I am trained to read people, and read them well, so I can make my performance better”.  
  
“Same here,” said Salmarian “the PSI thingy”.  
  
The Doctor nodded “you said Salmarian that you think we are the few who remain, how do you figure that?”  
  
“Just a feeling” he replied, “I think Tina and I are the only few here apart from the Kids, though they are unique, deadly combo though”.   
  
“No,” Tina said almost to herself “there is _another_ ”.  
  
The Doctor and Sal hadn’t seemed to have heard her as they were both looking at the kids and the Doctor said: “then we must see to it that they are protected!”  
  
“They're the future” Salmarian agreed “I don’t think there are many of us left though and this isn’t even our dimension, the Dorenganza rule here not we” he floated his cup to the bin “ as you saw, Tina and I have developed quirky talents from living here. We  
both can use magic, I am Order of the Five and Tina is a Bard if you live here long enough, you too, may develop some quirky talents as well, this universe changes everyone who lives here eventually. It has enhanced our Psionic powers considerably, but we  
can’t match the Jedai, given our unusual physiology as well, we kinda stand out, that we aren’t quite what we seem, which is why I want to protect the Firesongs”.  
  
The Doctor nodded “ _MMM_ interesting, I can’t remember much actually, don’t really want to either although everyone says I should, that I must, but I don’t want too”.   
  
“Your memories might come back, they may not, but maybe sometimes it is better not to remember. We won’t try to make you remember. Tina and I have lost some of ours as well. However, it is probably harder on you seeing you are so much older than  
either of us” said Salmarian.  
  
“I am?”  
  
“Yes, much,” said Tina.  
  
“We left Gallifrey because of you, because of your legend. Also, we wouldn’t have been able to marry, Tina been the daughter of the High Council at that and me been just a lowly engineer. It was the only way we could be together” said Salmarian.  
  
“ _Love_ ” the Doctor mused thoughtfully “surely one of the most destructive forces in the universe. There is nothing a man or a woman won’t do for true love”.  
  
“True enough” Sal agreed “worlds have died because of love; wars have been started because of it, Tina and I are human too. We were young, and we were in love, but wouldn’t have been able to marry on Gallifrey, so we left so we could. Tina and I want a   
child one day, our own child, a child that is truly ours. A child that will have to learn to live with all the faults of its parents, a child we make. It was one of the main reasons why we left because we loved each other.”  
  
“Romeo and Juliet,” the Doctor said.   
  
“Basically yes, Tina is a daughter of the High Council, a high ranking Time Lady. I was low ranking Time Lord. Tina and I fell in love regardless of that. She is of the same Chapter you were Doctor. We fled because we were in love and also because of your  
influence and your legend”.  
  
“I don’t think we can go back,” said Tina.  
  
“No I don’t think we can,” said Sal “yes we were young and probably foolish, but we have no regrets, our only regret was that we thought we had lost each other, forever”.   
  
“But why because of me?” the Doctor asked.  
  
“Because you are a legend,” Salmarian said.  
  
“I see,” he said.   
  
“We probably shouldn’t have admired you so much, but we did,” said Tina “we wanted to be more like you, we wanted to help”.  
  
Sal nodded “, and for love, that was the main reason”.   
  
“Love can hurt,” said Rastalin.  
  
“Much” Tina agreed.   
  
“These emissions,” said the Doctor “how about I rig us up all something, a type of tracker perhaps and we can split up and look around. I am going to need your help though Tina, seeing I don’t exactly know what we are looking for.”  
  
“I was about to suggest the same thing,” said Merlyn “I know what we are looking for”.  
  
“You do?” the Doctor asked, looking at him, thinking that maybe he’d found a kindred spirit in this young alien.   
  
“Uh, huh,” said Merlyn “we could probably rig something up”.  
  
“Good idea Merlyn,” said Tina.  
  
Rast said, “yeah Merlyn’s a wiz with computers and gadgets, how do you think he got his nickname ‘ _Merlyn_ ’?”  
  
“That’s a _nickname_?” the Doctor asked.   
  
“Uh, yeah it’s mine, it’s something of a tradition, we Xanaduens tend to give ourselves names we prefer to be called. My real name is Tilanthalas, but I prefer Rastalin. And Merlyn’s is Quinawah, but he prefers Merlyn just like you prefer everyone to call you  
 ** _Doctor_** , we’re the same”.   
  
“Merlyn suits you better anyway,” said Tina “it’s more you”.   
  
“Then why don’t you adopt a more human form?” the Doctor asked.   
  
“What’s _wrong_ with the one they have?” Tina asked then.  
  
“Yeah what is wrong with the one we have?” Rastalin asked “it’s us! We’re always looked like this! Even as Babies! We looked like toddler Gorta-Trellians when we were found”.  
  
“I have you know” Merlyn added, catching onto his brother's train of thought as they tended to do and often “That GT are classed as one of the most **_humanoid_** in the galaxy! Xanaduens tend to adopt a form that suits them, that feels right. This feels right!   
Rast and I don’t tend to shapeshift a lot, we like how we look!”  
  
Tina said ‘you know I have barely seen either of you ever shapeshift! I wasn’t even sure if you could! Due to alien blood”.  
  
“We can shapeshift Tina, we just don’t,” Rast said “that is what a lot of people get wrong about our race; we don’t shapeshift all the time! We don’t do it just to suit our own purposes, well Ok most times we don’t. You find that many Xanaduens don’t actually  
shapeshift a lot! We can all do it, we just _choose_ not too!”  
  
“Uh, huh” said Merlyn “at the hospital they thought I had altered myself to get another heart using my ability to shapeshift. _Hardly_! I told them I was born like that! And as DR Aston found, my body was geared for two and not one! I mean, honestly! Why   
would anyone do anything like that! They almost killed me! Trying to revive me! I have two hearts, and this is how I am _supposed_ to be! Due to my half alien blood, I am not virtually immortal like most Dorenganza!”  
  
“We’re not?” Rastalin asked.  
  
“No, we’re not!’ said Merlyn.  
  
Rastalin looked surprised “how do you know?”  
  
“I just know, ok! We’re not virtually immortal! Like the rest of our kind! Our Time Lord half kicks in there!”  
  
“It does?”  
  
“Yes if we die, we’ll maybe regenerate,” Merlyn said.  
  
“Which can be a pain,” Salmarian said with a shrug “you wander around not quite sure who you are or what you are for a while, your memory is a mess, you don’t look the same! It’s real if you’ll excuse my language, Doctor, Bugger! I’ve done it once already and Tina once. Try and avoid doing so, for as long as you are able!”

“So this is like your second self or something?” Rast asked him.   
  
“ My Second and Tina’s Second. It’s a great built-in feature, but it can also be a real pain at times!” he said “ you three aren’t even a century old yet though. I think it is going to be quite sometime before any of you have to worry about that, your only kids.  
But Tina and I should start imparting our knowledge onto you all about your other half. Although you're all as Dorenganza as they come. It is probably better you stay that way. Although it wouldn’t hurt you all to know more about your alien half, we’re not   
exactly proud of the history of our race admittingly, but, we probably should teach you three anyway, not that it matters here though. Tina and I belong here more now than we do there”.   
  
“Yeah” Tina added she sipped her coffee “still won’t hurt you though”.  
  
Salmarian nodded “the crux of the matter is that you three are adolescent Time Lords as well as Dorenganza. You walk between two worlds yet not fully belonging to _either_. Unfortunately seeing you are also all Gallifreyan you need to be made aware of your   
responsibilities that it brings. It is a lot to place on young shoulders, and part of me wishes we didn’t have to. But to keep you safe and to keep yourselves safe we have to teach you what been a Time Lord is all about. This means that you will all have to learn  
to use your powers you have been given properly and understand them. Tina and I and the Doctor are the only Time Lords here, so it is up to us to help you become what you will become, what you need to be become and understand it, for your own safety  
and the universes. Are you three willing to walk that path with us?”  
  
“Yes,” said Merlyn “I am”.  
  
“Me too,” said Rastalin, “long ago I made a decision to become a Jedai as did Merlyn, this is not that different”.   
  
“And I,” said Crysta “Professor, you always told me that maybe I was the future”.   
  
“Maybe you are the future of our race,” Salmarian said, “ maybe you are not, but none the less, you are Time Lords, you are Gallifreyan, and you need to know what we know, and it is up to Tina and me to _teach_ you”.  
  
“And we will learn,” said Merlyn “but first we have a war to win”.


	10. ARCANUM

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First Night on Arcanum and of course The Doctor finds something!

##  _**MERLYN FIRESONGS JOURNAL- 20.01.2946** **  
  
** _

_**This whole adventure is turning into a journey of self-discovery I am finding, maybe it is because I am at that age 18 when you start to find out who you are when you finally begin to enter adulthood, make that transition from adolescent to adult.** _

_**There was a time not so long ago when I thought I knew who I was, but now I am not so sure.** _

_**  
Maybe finding yourself in the beginnings of war does that to you, changes your perception of things forever.** _

_**  
My Perceptions have changed considerably over the past few weeks, and now I’m not sure what to do with these new perceptions and knowledge. The other thing that has thrown me into a tizzy is the knowledge that I am Half Gallifreyan and the fact that** _ _**Rast and I have a sister.** _

_**  
Yes! A sister! A sister we never knew we had or couldn’t remember having, a younger sister called Crystal or Crysta as she prefers to be called.  
  
She has spent the last few years under the care of Salmarian, Tina’s beloved, which by a strange twist of fate, were reunited once again.  
  
He only survived because he was a Time Lord, and Crysta like us is also Half Gallifreyan.  
  
I don’t know what to think anymore, it is all happening so fast! The war, the end of our apprenticeships, Tina and Salmarian, the Doctor, Crysta, Rast and I also been Half Gallifreyan, I feel all broken up.  
  
Rast is handling it about as well as I am, but seeing he has never been overly inclined to wishful musings like I have he seems to be handling it better, but, I know my twin better than anyone could. I know he feels the same way I do, neither of us   
know what to think anymore, and I think we both need to have a good talk to Master Casamir for some guidance.  
  
We are soon to become full Jedai Knights, so maybe this is part of becoming Jedai Knights and entering adulthood, learning to stand on our own two feet and facing all your questions head-on even if you don’t know all the answers, gosh I even   
sound like Master Casamir!  
  
Rast and I will soon be 19 by human reckoning old enough to finish our apprenticeships and for Casamir to no longer be our legal Guardian.  
  
He’s pretty much handed us over to Tina now, seeing we are currently on our own on Arcanum with only the Doctor, Tina and Salmarian and of course our newfound sister whom we hardly know.  
  
Yes, this is most definitely a journey of discovery and one to find our own identities at last.  
  
Master Casamir admits that there is not much more that he can teach us that living can’t, especially in the ways of the Force, so I guess it is up to us to learn the rest of it on our own.  
  
I guess it is part of growing up, and part of me doesn’t want to grow up ever! Maybe it is because we are orphans and I want to cling to the only family I have ever known, the only home I have ever known I know that sounds crazy, but, it seems the   
whole universe has gone mad!  
  
The War is upon us, and who knows when it will end? And what will be left of the world when it does?  
  
** **Signing OFF** _

##  _**Merlyn Firesong.  
  
**_ _  
_

Merlyn put away his journal he’d been writing in while he was sitting vigil in Tina’s **_TARDIS_** console room watching for spikes in the Time Vortex.  
  
Rastalin was nearby practising with the remote blindfolded, Crysta was playing Scrabble with Salmarian and Tina was apparently having a soak in the hot tub (they had a huge Jacuzzi in the **_TARDIS_** ); the Doctor was in his own ship.   
  
“Hay Merlyn have a go at this!” Rast said “you probably need the practice!” that was the difference between him and Rast, Merlyn when something was bothering him tended to either meditate over it or write it down, Rast pulled out his lightsabre and  
practised.  
  
“In a minute,” Merlyn said checking the readouts, handling Tina’s **TARDIS** console with almost as much skill as Tina herself, mind you Merlyn could also _fly_ Tina’s **TARDIS** , something Rastalin hadn’t been able to accomplish as yet.  
  
Rastalin couldn’t even make sense of most of the controls, Merlyn, however, seemed to have an innate understanding; Rast suspected that he was also telepathically linked to it as well, perhaps from all the times he had interacted with it while helping Tina   
with repairs.  
  
“You really are a Time Lord, aren’t you?” Rast asked.  
  
“We both are,” said Merlyn.   
  
“Not as much as you are,” he said, “this whole Time Lord thing is kinda freaky”.  
  
“Freaky or not it is who we are,” Merlyn said, igniting his lightsabre “Prepare to defend yourself!”  
  
“You could never beat me Merlyn,” Rastalin said igniting his own.  
  
Laughing the twins connected, lightsabre against lightsabre, they both had them set at low power so they wouldn’t hurt each other.  
  
As Senior Apprentices, they were trusted enough to use Lightsabres in mock fighting bouts without the supervision of a Master.  
  
Salmarian walked out when he heard the noise to find the twins going at it with their energy blades, he watched, they were both quite good and judging by their expressions and laugher, they were playing.  
  
Merlyn was good, but Rastalin was marginally better, Merlyn made use of speed and agility more than sheer strength and given his bad shoulder it made sense, but, it was quite clear who was the more martial one out of the pair.  
  
Merlyn aptly dodged a thrust from his twin and retaliated with one of his own, Merlyn wasn’t as martial orientated as Rast, given more to Martial arts rather than just fighting skill as Rast but, he _did_ know how to use a lightsabre.  
  
Rast groaned as Merlyn’s sword tapped him “I _hate_ how you’re left-handed! And know how to make use of that fact! We’re _supposed_ to be twins!”.   
  
“It’s not unknown for twins to prefer opposing hands,” Merlyn remarked then “it’s not common either, but it’s not unknown, it does happen I just happen to be left-handed”.  
  
Rast nodded “yeah”.  
  
Merlyn shrugged and backed down aptly avoiding and dodging Rastalin again.   
  
“Your good,” said Salmarian “both of you”.  
  
“Thanks,” said Rastalin “I’m better than he is, though, and he knows it!”  
  
“Only in some areas dear brother,” said Merlyn “I’m better at martial arts than you are, that is what shows up in my fighting”.   
  
“Do keep on?” said Salmarian “just be careful not to hit the console of the **TARDIS** ”.  
  
Both twins looked suitably sheepish, Sal chuckled “try one of the antechambers”.  
  
The twins both said as one “sorry Sal”.  
  
Sal nodded “any action”.   
  
“Nothing major,” Merlyn said coming over and looking at the readouts, “the usual time eddies that you find”.  
  
Salmarian nodded “Ok, we’ll turn you into a Time Lord yet Quinawah”.  
  
Merlyn said “yeah”.   
  
“I can’t believe you can fly Tina’s **TARDIS** ,” Salmarian said.  
  
Merlyn shrugged “I interface with it sometimes, so I probably picked it up via that”.   
  
“Probably,” he said, “now take those swords where they _can’t_ damage the **TARDIS** ”.  
  
“Yes, Sal,” said Merlyn; they went to one of the antechambers.  
  
Tina came out wearing a bathrobe with her hair in a towel “what’s up?”  
  
“Those imps were practising with light-swords in the console room,” said Salmarian.   
  
“Oh,” Tina said, “careful twins”.  
  
“Yes, Tina”.  
  
“Good,” said Tina.   
  
“Kids, huh?” Sal asked his wife.   
  
“Yeah” she agreed.   
  
“We have our hands full with those three,” he remarked.  
  
Tina shrugged “would you prefer to hand them over to the Time Lords?” she asked.  
  
Salmarian looked _shocked_ at the very idea “no way! **_Imagine_** what they would do to them! Three orphaned half breed Gallifreyans! That is not an option Tina!”  
  
“Exactly my point,” said Tina “we can’t hand them over to the Time Lords, imagine what they would do to them!”  
  
“I dread to think,” said Salmarian, he heard a knock on their **TARDIS** door, and they checked the visual and saw the Doctor standing there.  
  
Tina opened the door and asked, “what’s up, Doctor?”  
  
The Doctor seemed oblivious to Tina’s state of undress and Salmarian’s, PJ’s, slippers, dressing gown and slippers.  
  
“You have to _come_ with me! All of you! I think you need to see this,” he said.   
  
“What?” Sal asked.   
  
“Just come,” he urged.   
  
“Could you excuse us then for a few moments, we need to get dressed,” Sal said.  
  
The Doctor suddenly became aware of them and said: “excuse me I’m sorry”.  
  
“Give us a few moments, and then we’ll come,” said Sal.  
  
“We’ll go,” said Merlyn then “Tina and Sal can come when they're ready”.  
  
“Alright then,” said the Doctor as the twins followed him outside, they were followed then by Crysta who had pulled jeans on over her nightshirt, which reminded the Doctor that this wasn’t Victorian England _despite_ appearances.  
  
“What you see?” Merlyn asked grateful for his Jedai robes.  
  
“You say this world is what was the term you used?”   
  
“ _Steam Punk_ ,” said Rastalin.   
  
“I am not sure whether I fully agree with that term’s usage,” the Doctor said, “I have a lot of respect and fond memories of Victorian England, it’s quite my favourite period, in fact, the beginning of the industrial age, there was a certain elegance about it that  
the world now lacks”.   
  
“This ** _isn’t_** Victorian England Doc,” said Rastalin.   
  
“Yes I know,” he said, “but that isn’t what I got you all out to see”.  
  
“What is it, Doc?” Merlyn asked.  
  
“These _T’ron_ , are they in the habit of fooling around with time?”  
  
“Seems that way doesn’t it?” Rast said, “they don’t quite have total control that you Time Lords all have”.  
  
Merlyn asked, “what’s bothering you, Doc?”  
  
“I was tracking Time Eddies and found a relatively large one, but I checked and found it, I found something a little worrying come with me, and I will show you”.  
  
Tina and Salmarian had joined them by now and followed the Doctor to a nearby reserve.  
  
The Doctor stopped them near one of the more wooded areas that were fenced off and said “ there is something in there, that probably shouldn’t be there” they climbed over the fence, well the Doctor, Tina, and Sal all did, both Rast and Merlyn force jumped  
over and Crysta just flew.  
  
The Doctor looked at the twins “ _impressive_ ” he remmarked.  
  
“Jedaini,” said Sal with a smile.  
  
“Must be kind of useful to have wings” the Doctor mused at Crysta, who folded hers away “tell me are wings natural to your race or just that form?”  
  
“All Dorenganza have wings,” Merlyn said with a shrug “, and we can all fly”.   
  
“Useful,” he said, “that jump was impressive though, how’d you do that?”  
  
“The Force,” said Rastalin “oughta see us when we really mean business, what we can do”.  
  
“There is more to this ‘ _Jedai_ ’ belief of yours than just having Psionic abilities isn’t there? I have learnt that from my time here, short as it has been so far, that Psionic abilities are not uncommon, but you Jedai seem to have something more”.  
  
“Yes we do,” said Merlyn “it’s a code to live by and involves training your Psion abilities to their fullest potential. It is a way of bringing your entire being, the sum of your parts into a single whole. A union of all it is rare amongst Dorenganza, many of us don’t  
have the disciplines for it, we’re too chaotic”.  
  
“Ok,” said the Doctor “I wanted to show you this”.  
  
They followed him unsure what he meant, he led them into the wooded area till they came to a clearing.  
  
The Doctor pointed a long finger “it’s over there and is well camouflaged, but it shouldn’t be there”.  
  
“What do you think it is?” Tina asked a few minutes later as they stood near what appeared to be a small craft.  
  
“I was tracking the eddies when I noticed this one” the Doctor replied, “I’m surprised you didn’t pick it up”.  
  
“We probably did but didn’t see anything amiss” Merlyn replied, “or I missed it as I was the one on watch”.  
  
Tina said “don’t be too hard please, Merlyn’s a _teenager_ remember? You can’t expect a _teenager_ to sit still for hours watching time eddies, or maybe if he had been born on Gallifrey and training to be a Time Lord but remember this isn’t Gallifrey and  
Merlyn’s been bought up here”.  
  
The Doctor said, “I see your point, Tina; it is possible he just missed it”.   
  
“I think it is a crude version of a time machine,” said Tina quietly going forward.  
  
Merlyn said, “I also think it is T’ron it looks organic enough, and it’s not stylish enough to be Dorenganzan. Our technologies are similar, but we are a lot better, elegant, shall I say than the T’ron? ** _XANADU_** herself is a perfect example of Dorenganza Tech”.  
  
“But why would the T’ron do such a thing?” the Doctor asked.   
  
“The T’ron are trying to take over the universe, isn’t that why enough?” Rastalin asked, coming forward.  
  
“Most likely” Tina said.  
  
“What do you suggest we do with it?” Sal asked.  
  
“We should report it,” said the Doctor “didn’t Admiral Durnajar mention we should report stuff like that?” it didn’t go past them all that the Doctor called Durnaa but his proper name. With the appropriate pronunciation instead of the more commonly used  
‘‘ ** _DURN-AA,’_** the doctor had said ‘ ** _DURNAJAR’_** noone they knew ever pronounces it that way! Not even Durnaa himself!  
  
“Yes he did,” said Merlyn, he had to admit to himself, he also had a lot of respect and like for the High Prince turned Head of the Crasolian Parthenon.  
  
Prince Durnaa was as much a legend in this universe as the Doctor was! “It only looks like one though, let’s see” he stood back and concentrated, holding a hand out and before all their eyes the machine lifted off the ground.  
  
“Didn’t I see that this is in a movie once?” the Doctor remarked.  
  
“Merlyn!” said Tina sounding concerned “take it, easy honey! That probably weighs a tonne or more!”  
  
“ _Size matters not_ ” Rastalin quoted “ _when you are one with the Force_ , I could probably lift it too”.   
  
“Merlyn’s doing that with _just_ the power of his mind?” the Doctor asked.   
  
“Yeah!” said Rastalin sounding offhand about it as if it was normal behaviour which considering who they both were it probably was.  
  
“Intriguing” the Doctor, mused.   
  
“We should do something with it,” said Rastalin then sounding more serious than he usually was which reminded them all then, who knew him, that despite Rastalin’s usually offhand manner and viewpoint, that, like Merlyn, he was a Senior Jedai Apprentice.  
  
“What you mean?” Tina asked.  
  
“C-couldn’t we p-put it aboard y-your T- **TARDIS**?” Merlyn asked stuttering a little more than usual, seeing he was concentrating on holding it up.  
  
“We could,” said Tina.  
  
Merlyn nodded, and there was a slight ‘ _pop_ ’, and it vanished.   
  
“What you do with it?” The Doctor asked.   
  
“Teleported it to Tina’s **TARDIS,** ” Merlyn replied, “We should check it out”.  
  
“Oh,” said the Doctor “very well” as they walked back towards the fence and climbed over it, looking around to see if the coast was clear.  
  
They almost got away with it, when suddenly a man in a guards uniform shone a torch in their faces, mucking up all their night-vision “halt who goes there!”  
  
“Bugger!” Tina swore, holding up her hands and going forward.  
  
“You were trespassing on a restricted area,” the Guard said.  
  
Tina said, “were we?”  
  
“Yes,” he said.  
  
Merlyn stepped forward, making sure that the Guard saw that he was a Jedai Knight and asked: “what _seems_ to be the problem officer?”  
  
“You were trespassing on an out of bounds area” this was said with a slight widening of the eyes when he saw Merlyn’s Jedai robes.  
  
“No, we weren’t,” Merlyn said, keeping his tone light.  
  
The Guard said, “no, of course, you weren’t, my apologies sir Knight” this was said with a bow and a salute, and then he walked away.  
  
“ _Impressive_ ,” said the Doctor starting to realise just how much pull the Jedai had in this universe.  
  
“The Old ‘ _Jedai Mind Trick_ ’ easy stuff,” Merlyn said.  
  
The Doctor said, “how often can you do that?”  
  
“All the time,” said Merlyn “only works on certain minds though, wouldn’t work on a Time Lords or even mine; basically it is the power of persuasion carried a little further”.  
  
“ _Impressive_ ,” he said, “what else can you both do?”  
  
Merlyn grinned, “you ain’t seen nothing yet!”  
  
The Doctor sighed at Merlyn’s English and tutted to himself, but chose not to comment.  
  
Tina said, “let’s go back, I’m tired it’s been a long day” they walked back.


	11. Arcanum- 21 January 2946

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fitz Kreiner whose been stuck on Arcanum mistakes Salmarian for the Doctor and they meet for the first time.

Fitzgerald Kreiner or Fitz as he preferred to be known, _Time Traveller_ _Extraordinaire_ and The Doctors companion was lost.  
  
When the Doctor had vanished suddenly leaving them alone in Paris in the early 21st century, Fitz hadn’t worried too much at first, the Doctor sometimes did that, but he always came back, but Christmas and then New Years had passed.  
  
Then a further couple of weeks passed, and Fitz had started to get worried, the Doctor wasn’t himself and hadn’t been for a long time, and he wasn’t sure if he ever would be himself again, especially after what had happened on Gallifrey.  
  
But as the weeks had passed he had begun to get increasingly worried and then something strange had happened to him, something he couldn’t explain, he’d been on his way back to his room in the pub they were staying at in Paris when suddenly a bright  
light had engulfed him.  
  
He found himself standing in what _ **appeared**_ to be at first Victorian England, until he had looked up at the sky and had seen two moons in the sky!

  
He was on another planet that just _looked_ like Victorian England and clearly Earth-like in nature as he could breathe, hell the place even smelt like Victorian England!  
  
That had been a few hours ago, and now he was wandering aimlessly down the road wondering what he was going to do! The Doctor would know, the Doctor always knew.   
  
“Where are you, **_Doctor_?**” he wondered to himself and then suddenly pulled up amazed, hells bells! How did he do it!  
  
“Doctor!” he called out to the man a few paces in front of him wearing a ‘ _Van Helsing’_ style hat and a long brown coat.  
  
The man stopped and looked around, and Fitz ran up to him “ ** _Doctor_**!”  
  
Salmarian observed the youngish, slightly scruffy looking human man who appeared to be in his thirties somewhere, clad in worn denim and sporting a London accent came running up to him, the truth was he looked a bit like the Doctors younger, scruffier  
brother.  
  
Salmarian held up a hand and removed his hat shaking out his long auburn hair, so the young man could see he wasn’t the Doctor.  
  
  
Fitz stopped dead in his tracks when he realized it wasn’t the Doctor or _was_ it? The Doctor ** _had_ **been known to change his appearance, this man was definitely not the Doctor, he was the same height and build, yes, but the man had long auburn hair, grey-blue eyes, and fair skin with some freckles and his face was a different shape to the Doctors and Fitz realized that despite the coat, that he was wearing a polo style tee-shirt and well-worn blue denim jeans, the Doctor never wore Jeans or a _tee-shirt_! Unless this was his new persona.   
  
“I’m sorry I thought you were someone else” Fitz apologized “you kind of looked like my friend from the back”.  
  
The man said “ _obviously_ ” Fitz noticed his accent, quite unlike anything he had heard mainly but with a hint of a Kentish accent in it.   
  
“I’m sorry,” said Fitz “have you seen my friend, though? The Doctor? He actually does kind of look like you, but his hair is brown, and his eyes are blue, and he does dress similarly to you”.   
  
“And speaks with a slight accent?” Salmarian asked with a smile “and flies around in a blue Police box?”  
  
Fitz said “you have _seen_ him! Where?”  
  
“ _Whoa_! Slow a bit, will you?” said Salmarian.  
  
This man wasn’t the Doctor, the Doctor never spoke like that, but then maybe he was, so Fitz decided to put it to the test “are you the Doctor?”  
  
“ ** _Me!_** _Gracious_ no! Whatever gave you that idea?” Salmarian asked.  
  
Fitz said, “well uh he....”  
  
Salmarian chuckled “no he hasn't, well not as far as I know, last time I looked, and that was this morning when we had breakfast and a cup of tea together”.  
  
Fitz said “you _do_ know him! You know about _that_!”  
  
Salmarian continued “you must be Fitz then, the Doctors best friend and companion, my name is Salmarian or Sal as I am better known, the Doc’s actually been kind of worried about you actually, so somehow your been bought here as well, he’ll be pleased to see you”.  
  
Fitz said “Oh”.   
  
“He’s fine, a little lost though of course, this isn’t his universe, I will take you to him shortly if you wish, I think he was investigating the space docks with Rast and Merlyn, I was just on my way down there myself,” Sal said stopping at a vendor and buying   
himself some tea for himself and Fitz and some cigarettes for Fitz.  
  
He handed the pack to Fitz “here you go”.  
  
Fitz said, “you do know the Doctor; you even knew which brand I smoked”.  
  
Sal shrugged “he doesn’t approve you know, and as for me I have never been much of a smoker myself, I may have one socially but mostly not. But yes, I do know your friend. Truth is I don’t think smoking can much hurt our kind. It’s like drinking no matter  
how much we drink we can’t get drunk, which is downright annoying! All very well have built-in features like ours or having a respiratory bypass system or two hearts, but, _gee_ it sometimes takes the simple pleasures out of life away’ like being able to get  
good and drunk or enjoying a good cigar or pipe, for _once_ in my life I would like to get rolling drunk! Just _once_!” he sighed and took a sip of his tea.  
  
Fitz lighting his cigarette suddenly realized what Salmarian had been saying “ _your kind_?” he asked and offered a smoke to Salmarian who took it and lit it, without it seemed to Fitz a lighter.  
  
Sal took a drag of his own cigarette and nodded “yeah, _our kind_ , me and your friend”.  
  
Fitz looked at Salmarian as it suddenly occurred to him what he had meant and revealed: “you mean your......?” he trailed off simply astonished.  
  
“Uh, huh” Salmarian replied.   
  
“You’re a Time Lord!” Fitz asked, “you mean to say you’re another **Time Lord**?”  
  
“Quite so,” said Salmarian “me and my wife, Tina”.  
  
“ _Wife_?”  
  
Salmarian said “yes wife, my wife, Tina, she’s **also** a Time Lord, the Doctors not alone, I got a feeling though that there isn't many of us left though for some reason, our people that is. They did something they shouldn’t have and paid the price. But Tina and I  
haven’t been back for an awfully long time, come I will take you to the Doctor”.  
  
Fitz followed Salmarian feeling slightly ashamed, he knew what had happened, he’d been there, had been a part of it, but did he really have the right to tell Salmarian, something he couldn’t even say to the Doctor? How _much_ did Salmarian know?  
  
Sal stopped a carriage and said, “space docks please”.  
  
The Driver nodded, and both he and Fitz got into the carriage, Fitz asked: “ _where_ are we?”  
  
“We’re on a planet called Arcanum, in the Trianda Galaxy, one of the outer, middle rim worlds; it is the year 2946, standard Galactic Calendar. We are in a parallel universe to the one you belong too. Tina and I have both being here for well over a Century   
though and consider it our home now” Salmarian replied.  
  
“2946?” Fitz asked.   
  
“Yes,” said Salmarian.  
  
“Where’s your ship?” Fitz asked.  
  
Salmarian chuckled “here we’re staying in one of the hotels though, while we carry out investigations, less conspicuous that way”.  
  
Fitz said “I still can’t believe that your another Time Lord, you're so, I don’t know, so _un-Doctorish_ , or even _Time Lordish_ for that matter! You’re so down to earth, and what is that accent?”  
  
Salmarian replied “ _Australian_ , although I do sound like someone who was born in Kent but moved to Australia and lived there for years and have lost most of my English accent save a hint of it. Tina, however, sounds Australian born and bred; we spent some  
years living in Australia and thus picked up the accent. And when we both regenerated neither of us lost it, sounds quite unlike any other accent in the world, doesn’t it?”  
  
“Yes,” said Fitz “I couldn’t pick it”.  
  
Sal said “most can’t, you can put on a British, American or European accent but most can’t put on an _Australian_ one unless you’re lived with it, Tina and I both sound Australian. That’s how you can identify us, because of that Australian accent.”  
  
Fitz nodded “I can see that” he wondered how much they knew, about Gallifrey about the Doctor and asked, “so you both uh changed?”  
  
“Yes,” Salmarian said, “something happened to us both though, that set it off, and we got separated for some reason and for many years thought each other was dead, we only recently found each other again”.  
  
Fitz wondered if it had happened because of what had happened to Gallifrey all the Time Lords they had met seemed to affected in different ways, _including_ the Doctor, so was that how Tina and Salmarian been affected?  
  
Fitz felt at ease with Sal and said “it must be kind of weird though it two of you are married and one or both of you...” he knew for a fact that Time Lords generally didn’t speak of such things, well the Doctor certainly hadn’t!  
  
Sal, however, seemed to have no qualms about it “you get used to it! But it is why a lot of us don’t marry or get into relationships. Relationships between Time Lords are _complicated,_ to say the least! You think human relationships are complicated, _try_ been _a_ **Time Lord**!”  
  
Fitz said, “the Doctor always used to say that all these human emotions confused him somewhat, you don’t seem to have a problem with it”.  
  
Sal chuckled and then sobered “we do tend to hide our emotions somewhat don’t we _hmm_? Unfortunately, it is bred into us I think, not to the point of Vulcan’s of course, but still. Tina and I left because we were in love, deeply, totally in love, she’s a   
daughter of the High Council and a Time Lady, me, well although; a Time Lord myself I was just an Engineer. Our parents would not have let us marry, so realizing this we left. You’re from the 1960’s Fitz, you probably know all about free love and that. Tina  
and I were the Hippies of Gallifrey, much to our parent’s horror. No Gallifrey is a closed book to us both, but the truth of the matter is, we don’t really mind, we’re made our choice long ago and made our life here, and plan on having a family of our own one  
day. Children of our own, on our own terms. Even after everything that happened to us both. Our love for each other is as strong as ever. We’d give up our lives for one another, we wouldn’t be complete without each other, and we are soulmates”.  
  
Fitz said, “I see”.  
  
Sal said “although unlike your friend, we didn’t have to _steal_ a ship to do it. The one we have is Tina’s, it’s old, it’s rackety, it breaks down every so often, and the chameleon circuit works _most_ of the time. Although Tina could have easily traded it in for a   
newer model, she didn’t want to. She likes the old girl, and it means a lot to her”.  
  
Fitz nodded he could understand that, he realized that he was warming to this very down to earth Time Lord as well, Salmarian was so unlike the Doctor it was astounding, it made him wonder how he and the Doctor got on, he was also looking forward to  
meeting Tina, as the only female Time Lords he had ever met was Iris Wildthyme, and Romana, he wondered what Tina was like, was she anything like Sal or more like Romana.   
  
“Arh the Space dock,” said Sal paying the driver and getting out, Fitz followed suit, eager to meet up with the Doctor again.


	12. ARCANUM SPACEDOCKS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fitz is reunited with the Doctor and something unexpected happens.

In the Victorian England surroundings, the spacedocks almost seemed out of another world and time, it was built in a similar style, but Fitz could see several ships sitting there that didn’t seem to belong, including an oddly shaped one that seemed  
more organic, this was the one Salmarian headed towards.  
  
A boy of some near-human species looking no more than 18 or 19, clad in robes that kind of looked almost like Jedi robes from _Star-Wars_ , Fitz thought, with red-gold hair, saw Salmarian and came over.  
  
“Merlyn what’s up?” Sal asked.  
  
Merlyn indicated the ship “that’s a T’ron shuttle, we haven’t located the crew though, and no one’s come back for it, it’s locked down, and the Controller can’t remember giving it landing rights. We can’t scan the interior something about is playing havoc  
with our connection to the Way and the instruments, the Doc’s trying to rig something up we can use”.  
  
“Is that ok with the Controller?” Sal asked.  
  
Merlyn said “we’re Jedaini _remember_? _Most _people don’t question us when we request help” he folded his arms in his robes. Been Jedai on most planets grants you immediate co-operation and status, people tend to listen to you”.  
  
“I _noticed_ that,” said Salmarian with a smile “I knew bringing you two here with us was a good idea”.  
  
Merlyn nodded “the Doc’s inside if you want to see him, noone seems to question _**Him**_ either” he shrugged, “I think the Control Room thinks we’re all Jedai.”  
  
Salmarian said, “ remember what he says, _walk tall, just act like you belong here and no one questions you_ ”.  
  
“Yeah,” said Merlyn “ _and with all the arrogance of a Time Lord_. The truth is though, just been Jedai is usually enough for Rast and me”.  
  
Sal said, “we’ll turn you into a Time Lord yet Merlyn”.  
  
Merlyn grinned “I’m Jedai remember?” he indicated Fitz “whose he?”  
  
Sal said, “how rude of me, this is Fitzgerald Kreiner”.  
  
“The Doctors companion?” Merlyn asked.  
  
“Yes”.  
  
Merlyn smiled at Fitz “hi I’m Merlyn Firesong, welcome to Arcanum” he offered out a hand (four-fingered Fitz noted) Fitz took it and shook it.  
  
“Fitz Kreiner” he replied.   
  
“Pleased to meet you,” Merlyn said “the Doctor will be happy to see you, he’s been anxious about you” he indicated the ship “I’m going to go check that out, talk to you later”.  
  
Salmarian led him inside the control tower, and Fitz asked: “who was that?”  
  
“Senior Apprentice Merlyn Firesong, Tina and I’s companion, well _one_ of them at least” he replied, “between us, we have _three_ ”.  
  
“There seemed to be, I don’t know a manner about him that seemed unusual for someone so young”.  
  
“Merlyn’s actually 95 almost 96, his people the Dorenganza as they are known are a very long-lived race, much like Time Lords in fact,. By ** _their_** standards, he is in his late teens, around 18 or 19. Also, he is a Jedai, which is an ancient, highly respected,  
somewhat monastical order in this universe. It’s not exactly a religion though more a code to live by, Merlyn’s a senior apprentice in the Order. They are probably the best damn fighters in the universe though with their Psionic powers and fighting skills. And  
he’s also half Gallifreyan”.  
  
“What? You mean. How?”  
  
“It can happen, In Merlyn’s case, it is half Dorenganza, it is rare, and we don’t like to talk about it much, but it does occasionally happen. Merlyn’s Gallifreyan as well, albeit a young one, not born on Gallifrey or bought up there, he was born here, so’s he’s a  
child of this universe, not ours and a Halfbreed, as are his twin and their younger sister, but one of our own nonetheless quite a deadly combination if you ask me, they don’t yet realise how deadly”.  
  
“You mean....oh my goodness!” Fitz said “six of you in one place!”  
  
Salmarian said “yes and three of them born here, this is their world, their universe. I don’t know what’s happened to our people, something they have gotten themselves into no doubt, I wouldn’t put it past them. Merlyn, Rastalin and Crysta are perhaps our   
future, which is why Tina and I are so protective of them”.   
  
“Is that even possible?”  
  
“Apparently so,” said Sal, he paused and then yelled out “hay Doctor!”  
  
Fitz had to smile as he saw who stood up from a workbench nearby where a gorgeous redhead was sitting as well (Tina?) the brown hair, the blue eyes, the old fashioned clothes, the tall frame was unmistakable.  
  
“ _ **Doctor**_!” said Fitz relieved to see his friend in one piece and alive.  
  
“Fitz!” said the Doctor with a smile lighting up his face, he hugged Fitz ‘your here! I was _worried_ about you! When I vanished and ended up here! How did you end up here too?”  
  
Sal said, “I really wouldn’t put it past the Dorenganza” as the gorgeous redhead also got up and joined them, putting an arm around Salmarian who put one around her.   
  
“I have so much to _tell_ you Fitz!” the Doctor enthused “and much to do! I’ll fill you in on the situation!” he turned to Sal “where you find him?”  
  
“Wandering around lost in the city” Salmarian replied “looking for you I bought him back because I knew you were worried about him”.  
  
“Thank you Salmarian,” he said, then turned to Fitz “Fitz this is Tina” he turned to her and said, “and Tina this is Fitz”.  
  
Tina offered out a hand “pleased to meet you”.  
  
Fitz took the gorgeous female Time Lords hand, checking her out, she was a knockout, with long, curly strawberry-blonde hair, blue-green eyes, lightly tanned, slightly freckled skin, she looked to be in her 30’s somewhere, but she had a figure that just   
wouldn’t quit, even visible under the practical clothes she wore, he knew she was off-limits and not just because she was married, but man was she gorgeous! Salmarian was one lucky bloke, Time Lord or not!  
  
“Me too,” said Fitz.  
  
“The Doc’s been really worried about you,” Tina said.   
  
“Tina, I really wish you would stop calling me Doc!” the Doctor said, “it’s Doctor not ‘ _Doc_!’”.  
  
Tina said with a smile “sorry Doc”.  
  
The Doctor looked resigned and turned to Fitz “I have to fill you in right away; we have much to do Fitz! These peoples universe is in danger of war. I believe we were bought here to help them fight it, I have agreed to help them out”.  
  
“Saving the universe are we again, Doctor?” Fitz asked.  
  
“Yes it appears so,” he said.  
  
Tina said, “I’m going to go get some food, Doctor, would you like some?”  
  
The Doctor nodded absently as he explained the situation to Fitz, Tina took Salmarian’s hand and left them alone.  
  
Tina called out to Merlyn “want some food Merlyn?”  
  
“Yes, please,” Merlyn said, “I’ll help you with it if you like”.  
  
“No, we’ll take Crysta,” said Salmarian beckoning to Crysta who was looking over manifests for the last few days on the ships that had come, Crysta looked up grateful for the distraction.  
  
“Cool,” said she “thanks Professor”.  
  
Tina said to Sal “so now we are seven”.  
  
“Yes,” he agreed.  
  
“Who’s the guy?” Crysta asked, indicating Fitz.  
  
“Fitz Kreiner,” said Sal “the Doctors companion”.  
  
“He’s kinda cute,” she said.  
  
“And _your_ jailbait,” said Salmarian.  
  
Tina said, ‘she’s not actually”.   
  
“I’m over _**Sixteen**_!” she protested “closer to 17 actually, I’m over the age of consent!”  
  
“She’s actually probably older than he is,” said Tina “how old are you, Crysta?”  
  
“90” she replied “but honest Professor, I just said he was cute it doesn’t mean I want to automatically jump into bed with him! Not a good idea”.   
  
“She is you know,” Tina said, “there really isn’t that much of an age difference between her and the boys”.   
  
“I’m not the little orphaned kid you found on EITS anymore, Professor” Crysta remmarked.  
  
“I know Crysta,” he said, “I realise that”.   
  
“Can’t I just look at a cute older guy, and say he’s cute without you getting all **_fatherly_** on me?” She asked.  
  
“She has a point,” Tina said with a smirk.  
  
Crysta continued “ I realise, that for me, a romance with a human is, to say the least _complicated_ , given that I am of a race that is such long-lived, but our parents got together didn’t they?” she paused “ granted one of them was Dorenganza and the other a Time Lord, both long-lived, but I just reckon he’s cute though”.  
  
Tina said, “she’s definitely growing up, just like the twins are, they’re not kids anymore either”.  
  
Salmarian said, “yes I know that it’s just that I still keep seeing that young orphaned waif I picked up on EITS all those years ago just after the war on Crasolia”.  
  
She crossed her arms across her chest, across her hearts and said: “I know”.  
  
Tina said “Sal, like the twins she’s a young woman, just like the twins are young men, I keep seeing the two red headed rascals I used to know myself whenever I look at the boys although I know they’re both equivalent to 19 or so now” she smiled at Crysta  
then, she was growing to like the twins spirited younger sister “let's get something to eat Crysta”.  
  
Salmarian nodded “what would your brothers like?”  
  
“I say we just get a tub of _Big Red Chook_ and that, so we can feed everyone then,” Tina said, “hope the Doctor likes Fried Chicken”.   
  
“Good idea,” said Crysta, then she frowned and flashed blue fire for a moment making both Sal and Tina stop, they both knew enough about the Dorenganza to take notice of them when they started to glow, Dorenganza tended to glow blue fire when danger  
was around. All three siblings were Dorenganza enough to have that quirky ability.  
  
Crysta’s frown grew more in-depth, and she looked up, a faraway look in her eyes, Tina who’d seen that look often enough on the twins asked: “what’s wrong Crysta?”  
  
Crysta held up her hand and then seemed to be listening “there’s something wrong, a _disturbance_ in the Force”.  
  
“I didn’t think you were A Jedai” Tina remmarked.  
  
“I’m not,” said Crysta “well not like Rast and Merlyn are at any rate”.   
  
“You're also _Force Sensitive_ though aren’t you honey?” Tina asked.  
  
“Merlyn called me a _Force Adept_ ” she replied, “I don’t quite understand it, but I have always had you know, just had this knack for sensing things”.  
  
“Amongst other things yes,” said Salmarian “saved our butts a few times with it as well! I learnt to take notice when she glowed or sensed something; I went to Icotorus to get us both some training in Psionics even! We both needed it, my own Psi powers are  
nothing to sneeze about either! Not to mention my magical ability”.  
  
Tina nodded “I went to the Jedai temple on Saris to train mine, it’s one of the reasons I know a bit about the Order and the like, Rast and Merlyn spent some years there themselves. So what do you sense honey?”  
  
“I’m not sure, just a feeling; maybe Rast and Merlyn can make better sense of it, seeing their Jedai”.  
  
Tina said “yes” as they headed towards ‘ _Big Red Chook_ ’.  
  
Meanwhile back at the docks, Merlyn was walking around the ship scanning when he frowned as he too felt a disturbance in the Force, just as the device he was holding beeped insistently.  
  
Frowning he looked at it, the scanner was what the Doctor had rigged up, it was to pick up radiation readings.  
  
Fitz who had been standing nearby having a cigarette, talking to the young Time Lord and helping Merlyn with some simple tasks, looked up as Merlyn looked up and then at the device, he seemed to flash blue fire for a moment as well, the equipment he  
was holding looked like a cross between a Geiger counter and a radio, and there was a frown on his face.  
  
Find something?” he asked, strolling over.  
  
Merlyn frowned and held it up near the ship it beeped louder; Merlyn said: “get the Doctor, think I’ve found something”.  
  
Fitz said “Ok” he turned and went back inside.  
  
Rastalin who’d been nearby, came over and said: “what’s up?”  
  
“I think I’ve found something,” Merlyn said.  
  
“What?”  
  
“Something inside the ship,” Merlyn said his eyes meeting Rastalin’s.  
  
Rastalin said “ _Mm_ we need a cutter to get through the hull, I think even our lightsabres, would have trouble getting through that. They would eventually but it would take some time. I saw one near a ship getting repaired, I’ll go borrow it” he walked off.  
  
Merlyn ignited his lightsabre anyway and started to use it on the ship’s hull.   
  
“Wouldn’t that wreak your blade?” the Doctor asked as he walked up a few moments later, Merlyn turned and saw the Doctor and Fitz standing there, Fitz looked wide-eyed and awed at Merlyn’s ignited energy blade.  
  
“I’m almost afraid to ask, is that what it looks like?” Fitz asked.  
  
The Doctor nodded “yes Fitz it’s an energy blade, both of them have one! An extraordinary and elegant weapon, I must say!”  
  
Fitz asked “you have a Lightsabre! An honest to goodness real-life **_Lightsaber_**!?”  
  
“It’s the mark of our Order” Merlyn replied with a shrug “I’ll let you have a closer look at it sometime, and no Doctor it won’t wreak or blunt my blade, Rast’s coming back with a cutter”.  
  
Fitz was still awed at the fact that Merlyn had a real-life Lightsabre and said: “you really **_are_** a Jedi, aren’t you?”  
  
The Doctor waved that aside “that’s all very well Fitz, but Merlyn what have you detected?” overhead, thunder sounded.  
  
“There’s something inside the ship,” Merlyn said as Rast came back with a heavy-duty laser cutter.  
  
The Doctor was examining the ship with his Sonic Screwdriver and remmarked “this is _extraordinary_! It is like the whole ship has been made out of a single hunk of metal, no seams or anything!”  
  
“It’s probably been grown,” Merlyn said, “and probably isn’t metal”.  
  
Rast started up the cutter and said: “let's get to it guys”.  
  
Rast started to cut into the hull with precise skill, the Doctor waited patiently, and Merlyn stood back with Fitz, it was not an unknown fact that Rast was the physically stronger out of the twins.  
  
“Almost there,” said Rastalin a few moments later as the thunder got louder and the sky got darker.  
  
Merlyn frowned and looked at the sky, storm clouds had rolled in, and lightning started to flash, there was something unnatural about this storm though, he could feel it.  
  
“What’s going on guys?” Tina asked, coming up with a huge bucket of ‘ _Big Red Chook_ ’.   
  
“We found something on the ship” the Doctor replied, taking a chicken leg “we’re trying to cut into the hull to see what it is”.  
  
Tina handed him a serviette, he took it and wiped his fingers and started to eat the chicken, behind him Fitz lit another cigarette.  
  
“What do you think it is Doc?” Tina asked, pulling out a breast piece and eating that.   
  
“Could be anything” the Doctor replied.  
  
“Aha!” said Rast “got it!” as a piece of the hull fell away, he stood back and said, “Say what you make of that?”  
  
The Doctor went forward and looked at it, his frown deepened as he caught sight of the box inside, that seemed to be transmitting and counting down something, he ran his screwdriver over it and then lifted the top and then recognised it for what it was, he  
backed away and commanded “ _ **RUN**_! **Now**! All of you!”  
  
“What?”  
  
“Just do it!” he ordered “run for cover now!” his voice booked no argument, Tina took Salmarian’s hand.  
  
They all bolted for cover, and they all made it into a spare parts bin before there was a huge explosion, glass breaking everywhere, screams and shrapnel flying all over the place and the area rocked with a blast.  
  
The flimsy roof of their cover fell down over them, Crysta cried out, and they were all left in darkness.  
  
Merlyn felt both his hearts beating in shock and Rastalin gasped as explosions rocked all around them, Merlyn and Rast held Crysta close, Tina and Sal clung to each other.  
  
The Doctor and Fitz just kept their heads down due to years of long practice.  
  
All around them sirens wailed, and there were screams and shouts and what sounded like more explosions, one sounding very close to their hiding place.  
  
“What’s happening?” Crysta asked quietly.  
  
The Doctor replied, “the ship was a decoy I believe, there was a bomb aboard and by the sounds of it, and it was a signal for an all-out invasion force”.   
  
“If we hadn’t found it...” Merlyn said.  
  
“We’d all be dust by now,” said Tina.  
  
Crysta said “I’m scared” Merlyn hugged her.  
  
Salmarian said, “I don’t know whether it’s safe to get out yet”.  
  
Tina said, “that was a _close_ one”.  
  
“Very” Sal agreed.  
  
Fitz said, “just another ordinary day for me and the Doctor!”   
  
“You can _talk_!” said Tina lifting the lid slightly, all she could see was dust, darkness, and lights piercing the gloom.  
  
“I think it’s safe,” she said quietly “well at least safe enough for us to find more _suitable_ cover”.   
  
“You sure,” said Fitz, who couldn’t see a thing; he swore Time Lords could see in the dark! Well, the Doctor always seemed to be able too! And there was no doubt the three teens could as well; especially with those large eyes, they all had not to mention the  
elegantly pointed ears.  
  
“Yes,” Tina said, lifting the top off and getting out, Crysta hissed in pain.  
  
“You OK honey?” Tina asked her.   
  
“I got hit by the lid when it fell down” Crysta replied, holding up an arm that was bleeding.  
  
Tina nodded and hummed softly, and the wound closed over “there take it easy though hon. I’m not the best healer”.  
  
They all got out of the bin and looked around in shock, the scene reminded Tina of a War Zone, the space dock windows were all blown out, and glass and debris lay all over the place, as did a few bodies, fires were everywhere, and where the ship had been  
was nothing but a crater, people were running frantically around totally ignoring seven people walking across the back.  
  
Crysta was looking wide-eyed at the destruction, a lot of the ships that were docked were either damaged or destroyed and all around them were Scorpionaid walkers and lasers came from the skies, the city was bathed in smoke and flame as both sides  
opened fire on each other, not caring who got in the way.  
  
“Oh, my God!” Tina said.  
  
“What are they?” Fitz asked.   
  
“The T’ron and the Scorpionoids” Tina replied “near as we can figure the two races are currently at war with one another and neither side cares who gets caught in the middle, both sides are trying to gain control. Fitz, you’re ended up here in the middle of a  
war I’m sorry” said Tina, she then touched the side of her hip, which now revealed that under the long lacy jacket she wore was a blaster in a holster.  
  
Crysta had pulled out a blaster as well, and both Merlyn and Rastalin as well.   
  
“What happened here?” Crysta asked.  
  
“It seems to me that the shuttle was a decoy for the invasion” the Doctor, remmarked frowning at the blasters especially the one in Crysta’s hands.  
  
“It’s a stun gun,” Crysta said, “it just stuns not kills”.  
  
“I never liked guns,” the Doctor said.  
  
“She’s my companion’ Sal said, who was also holding a blaster “Doctor, Cryst and I have been places where we have needed to use guns, and Crys has needed to learn to defend herself, that and her powers” he paused “I don’t like guns either, but there have  
been times when we have needed them”.  
  
They heard blaster fire somewhere nearby, and both Rast and Merlyn ignited their lightsabres.   
  
“Stay here!” Merlyn said as he and Rast ran forward, their lightswords flashed there was the sound of a scuffle, and both Jedai took out what looked like to Fitz humanoid scorpions in body armour.   
  
“What are they?” Fitz asked.  
  
“Scorpionoids,” Tina said opening fire on a few more, Fitz looked around for something and found a dropped laser cutter, remembering how Rastalin had used it he turned it on and brandished it threateningly, standing in front of the Doctor, who as if   
sensing a need didn’t stay long behind Fitz and went in with his fists, coat tails flying.  
  
“I forgot he was pretty good at unarmed combat,,” Salmarian said to Fitz, firing his blaster “I’m not half bad myself actually, a black belt in Karate and Judo and a brown in Siahan”.   
  
“Pardon?”  
  
“It’s a Gorta-Trellian form, Merlyn does it” he replied.  
  
Fitz said, “he never used to do that something happened to him while he was stuck on Earth for 100 years”.  
  
Salmarian said “ _really_? I seem to remember one of his incarnations wasn’t shy about using his martial arts skills or his fists either. Here Fitz” he handed him the blaster “cover me while I cast a spell”.   
  
“What?”  
  
“Cover me,” said Salmarian.  
  
Fitz shrugged and did so, watching in amazement as the red headed Time Lord closed his eyes and seemed to be concentrating and then started to chant softly he made a couple of gestures and then clearly said:  
  
_Take light from Darkness  
_  
 _Take Flame, make Fire  
_  
 _Shining bright, Shining light  
_  
 _In a line, Force of Flame  
_  
 _Order of the Five  
_  
 _Come alive!  
_  
 _And smite our enemies in  
_  
 _Burning light!  
_  
As Fitz watched in amazement, lines of flame shot out from Salmarian and engulfed their attackers, yet missing all those fighting them, until only scorched corpses remained.  
  
“ _There_!” said Salmarian “thanks Fitz” he took the blaster back.  
  
“Well done!” said Tina coming back, holstering her blaster.  
  
Sal shrugged “thought you needed a hand”.  
  
Fitz looked at him “what _was_ that?”  
  
The Doctor rubbing a bruised jaw said: “I have to agree with Fitz on that one”.  
  
Salmarian shrugged and said, “I’m an Order of the Five Magi, Master Level, I cast a _spell_ ”.  
  
“That was a spell?” Fitz asked.   
  
“Yes,” said Salmarian he held up a hand and said, “and before you say, _anything_ Doctor, yes it was magic or a sort, and yes I did do it, and yes magic does exist, in this universe, and yes there is an explanation for it”.  
  
The Doctor looked thoughtful “I remembering Rastalin and Merlyn mentioning it”.  
  
Sal said “I am an Order of the Five Mage when Tina and I settled here we both took on some of the characteristics of this universe. Tina became a Bard, and I became able to access the nodes and become a Mage. It’s a magic of a sort, but it is also a discipline  
of the mind and body, much like the Jedai. It turns out, we Time Lords, are well _suited_ to it, something to do with our body physiology no doubt. We have these extra energy centres, probably due to our twin hearts”.   
  
“Makes sense,” Tina said “what does it matter anyway? It _works_! Come on we best get to safety and see if we can contact anyone, we probably going to have to evac the planet!” just as a walker appeared over the roof of one of the surrounding buildings.  
  
“What on Earth is that?” Fitz asked.   
  
“It’s a Scorpionoid Walker,” said Tina “come we best get under cover, that heat ray is deadly!”  
  
“It looks like something out of _War of the Worlds_!” the Doctor exclaimed.   
  
“And as deadly” Tina said indicating a still intact doorway and they all ran in.  
  
Merlyn pulled the door across and joined the rest of the party “I don’t know how long that door is gonna last, against these attacks” he remmarked.   
  
“What are they?” Fitz asked.  
  
“Scorpionoids and T’ron” Tina replied, “that shuttle was clearly rigged to blow, and the attack begins like I said they are at war with each other and probably were chasing each other across the system”.  
  
“So it’s not humans?” the Doctor asked.  
  
“Nope,” said Tina using her own sonic screwdriver to open a locker and pulled out two more blaster rifles, one which she handed to Salmarian” let's move!” she ordered.  
  
They ran through the building which strangely enough had remained more or less intact “try and find the communications room” Tina ordered.  
  
“Thank goodness you’re alright!” the head of the control centre said suddenly running out from hiding, “I thought you all dead”.   
  
“We’re fine,” said Sal “takes a lot more than a bomb to kill us!”  
  
Tina said, “we need to contact off-world somehow and possibly evac the planet as fast as we can”.  
  
“The blast took out most of my crew and most of the command centre,” he said.  
  
“Is there any backup?” the Doctor asked.   
  
“If you can rig anything up your welcome,” he said leading them to the remains of the C&C centre.


	13. Arcanum Spaceport- Post Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the attack on the spaceport, our Crew are inside the control tower and the Doctor and Salmarian take charge and send out a call for assistance. And Fitz takes the opportunity to start to suss out how much Tina and Salmarian know.

The glass was cracked but intact, somehow amazingly remaining intact even with the explosion, from there they could see the destruction that had been wrought all across the space-docks. 

In the distance, they could see both T’ron fighter ships and Scorpion walkers attacking each other with little regard for their surroundings.

“Oh my...” Tina said, looking at the wanton destruction and carnage, while the Doctor examined the panels, most were burnt out.

The Commander said “I don’t know if you can do anything, the bomb blast took out just about everything. Most of my crew panicked and ran I don’t know how many survived. I thought you surely dead as you were all out near the ship when it went up” the tower shook as another blast rocked the complex.

The Doctor said, “we may be able to hook up a rough communications array with the remains of the controls and any other spare parts we can find, you’re an engineer aren’t you Salmarian?”

Salmarian nodded “yes “he replied coming over and having a look “I see your point” he and the Doctor discussed ways on how it could be done.

Tina tried to get some of the other panels to work, Crysta made coffee for everyone.

Fitz was left with Merlyn and Rastalin although Merlyn was looking at a panel himself and had pulled out what suspiciously looked like a sonic screwdriver as well.

Fitz said to the twins “he always loses me when he does that” he indicated the Doctor.

Merlyn nodded “I get the gist of what they're doing, but I’m no expert”.

Rastalin said, “I have an idea”.

Fitz asked, “is what Sal said about you three true?”

“In what way?’ Rast asked. 

“That you are, you know,like the Doctor?” Fitz asked.

“Yes, well at least half,” Merlyn said, looking up from where he had pulled out a panel and was examining it.

“But how?”

“We have no idea,” said Merlyn; he held out a hand “you want proof?”

Fitz took the offered hand and touched the wrist and found to his amazement a steady double pulse identical to the Doctors, twin hearts just like the Doctors.

“You have two hearts!” he said. 

“Just like the Doc” Merlyn confirmed “however in our universe having two hearts can just mean you’re a carrier of the ‘M’ gene, that you’re a mutant or just alien, for years we thought that was why. But it has been proven with us that is not the case, none of us  
has the M gene and recent events show that it‘s definitely not that, Rast, Crys and I are all half Gallifreyan, and that it is not a mutation, we are in fact like the Doctor, our body chemistry matches Tina, she is not our mother though, Sal is not our father and nor  
is the Doctor we don’t know who they were, but yes Crysta and us are all Gallifreyan, well half at least”.

“So having two hearts is not unknown?”

“No, it isn’t,,” Rastalin said,, “it is not common but not unknown as Merlyn said for many years we just thought we were possibly mutants”.

“That sounds bad,” said Fitz.

Merlyn chuckled “being a mutant is nothing to be ashamed of, it usually means you have some quirky power though or characteristic and usually get sent to a special school and get trained up as a member of a team or something, much like the X-Men or  
become a lone superhero like Superman or Batman. Rast and I aren’t mutants though we’re a Gallifreyan/ Dorenganza crossbreed, something rarer than been mutant and probably unique”.

Fitz asked, “just how much like the Doctor are you?”

Merlyn adjusted the circuit board he was holding and said “twin hearts, lower body temp, Artron energy, built-in resistances, a talent with time. Scientific knowledge, orange-red blood although that is also a Dorenganza trait as well, and it glows a little, a knack for getting in trouble. A respiratory bypass system, not to mention all our other characteristics that come with being Gallifreyan. Nor to mention P1P Psionic powers, ability to Shapechange and other characteristics and powers that come with being Dorenganzan, we’re a deadly combo”. 

“One dangerous and potent crossbreed in other words and probably only possible because we are Dorenganza!” Rastalin continued “much as this whole thing freaks me out, yep we’re definitely Time Lords, sometimes I wish we were just mutants!” he indicated  
Merlyn ‘he can fly Tina’s TARDIS”.

Fitz looked at Merlyn “you can?”

“Yes although if TARDIS’s came with plates, I’d probably be an ‘L’ “Merlyn said.

Fitz took the risk; then, he wanted to know “have you, you know, Changed?”

Merlyn shook his head “we’re only 95 Fitz, we’re probably too young! Even by the standards of our people! The Dorenganza! We’re still only teenagers!”

“We’re about 18” Rastalin commented then “if you want to use Terrani comparisons”.

Fitz asked, “you’re a century old?”

“Pretty much,” said Merlyn than he said “Doctor! I have something that may help us get a communications array up and running!” as the tower shook again.

“I hope it holds” Rastalin commented.

Merlyn went over to the Doctor and handed him the modified component. 

“Thanks, Merlyn,” said the Doctor, slipping it in and turning it on. 

“We have communications!” Salmarian announced sitting down “ **MAYDAY! MAYDAY! THIS IS CAPTAIN SALMARIAN FROM ARCANUM! CAN ANYONE HEAR US!!” as another explosion rocked the tower “WE’RE UNDER HEAVY ATTACK!! I REPEAT WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!!!”** another concussion shook the tower, the glass cracked some more.

Salmarian looked anxiously at it and then continued “ **MAYDAY! MAYDAY CAN ANYONE HEAR US!!!”**

There suddenly was a loud crackle of static and then a voice punctuated the static saying, “ _this is the Starship Andromeda, Captain Wilkins speaking we are locating your signal it is weak though, where are you transmitting from?”_

Salmarian said “thank the Gods! This is Captain Salmarian, we’re on Arcanum, we’ve been attacked by both Scorpionaid and T’ron forces. I don’t know the extent of the casualties, but, I suspect in the hundreds!, we are in dire need of assistance!, we may need to evacuate the Planet!”

“ _What is your situation?_ ”

Sal continued “the planet is under heavy attack, please send a message out to The Alliance and tell them to send as many ships as they can spare! We’ll try and hold out down here and try to arrange everyone to evac, but I warn you we are under heavy attack!”

“ _Very Well, Captain Salmarian_ ”. 

“Thank you” he signed off after giving more details.

“So what we do now?” the Doctor asked.

Salmarian looked thoughtful “Contact the **XANADU** she can help Evac if it comes to that, we can use the **INTREPID** that can hold quite a few. I can control the computer onboard; I should be able to hold back the malevolent influence long enough”. 

“Using the **INTREPID** is risky” Tina remmarked “we could use our TARDIS’s as well”.

The Doctor nodded “normally I’d be a bit wary about that, but if the need arises I shall do so”. 

“The **XANADU** will help as well,” Merlyn said as he tried to contact the **XANADU** , but got only static, frowning he sent to Master Casamir, which he managed to get through to and explained the situation, Casamir  
promised to pass it on and ended contact.

“ Xanadu knows of the Situation,” said Merlyn; as yet another explosion shook the tower “this isn’t gonna last much longer”. 

“We probably should stay as long as we are able,” said Salmarian furiously typing something into the keyboard “see if anyone else is alive”.

Fitz watched the redheaded Time Lord, the way he worked the keyboard reminded him of the Doctor, lightning-fast and hard to follow, his fingers were also long like the Doctors, from the back the redheaded Time Lord even looked a bit like the Doctor aside from the long dark red hair which was in a similar style to the Doctors once, and had the same texture.

He and the Doctor seemed to be getting along alright as well; he wondered if Salmarian was as old as the Doctor? And how would been in the presence of two other Time Lords affect the Doctor? Would it jolt his memory? And just how much did Tina and Salmarian _know_?

Tina gave Fitz some tea and cold chicken; somehow the box of chicken had survived, she had somehow managed to hang onto it although it was now cold. 

“Thanks,” said Fitz.

Tina sat beside him and drank her coffee; Fitz was aware of how gorgeous she was even soot-covered as she was.

Tina asked, “who knows when we’ll get to eat again?” Even that accent was sexy.

Fitz remmarked “you know you’re very different to how I’d picture a Timelady”.

Tina looked at him “and just **how** _many_ Time Ladies have you met?”

“Not many” he admitted, “Romana and Iris mainly”.

Tina chuckled “not much of comparison then, Romana’s very involved with Gallifreyan affairs, and I have no idea who Iris is!”

“She was President when I last met her, _Romana_ I mean,” Fitz said, “you know Romana?”

“Only by reputation, she’s a fair bit older than I, I am not surprised she made President actually, she always was very ambitious, and my mother knew her well actually. I have never met her myself though, or if I did, I was probably a child. Although I was a daughter of the High Council, at the time Sal and I left, I was only a very junior member” Tina replied eating her chicken.

“So you’re a pretty high ranked Timelady then?” Fitz asked. 

“Not really,” Tina said “I ranked higher than Sal though” she shrugged then “I don’t regret leaving, don’t really want to go back either”.

Fitz nodded he was beginning to see the picture here, it appeared that Tina and Sal didn’t really know much at all about what had happened, they knew _something_ had happened but knew not what, although it seemed that their memories were intact, so effectively they didn’t really know much more than the Doctor on Gallifrey’s fate.

They knew that Gallifrey was their home planet, but, he got the impression the pair of them haven’t been back for quite some time, and clearly weren’t planning on doing so either, maybe they could help the Doctor, possibly, they couldn’t.

All the other Time Lords they had met since then, didn’t really remember Gallifrey it had been wiped clean from their memories.

Tina and Sal, however, probably because they were living in a parallel universe seemed to have been spared that. 

They clearly remembered it up to the point when they had left, whether that was a good thing or a bad thing Fitz couldn’t guess, from his travels with the Doctor he knew that Time Lord brains were far more complicated than humans, despite looking human or near-human as the case may be in this universe, Time Lords were genuinely alien.

As to the twins and Crysta, they were born here, as far as they knew, this was their home, their universe, to them Gallifrey was just a name.

Tina smiled at the twins and Crysta who were talking animatedly over in a corner together, while Merlyn worked on a panel.

Fitz was starting to be able to tell the near-identical twin boys apart (he had thought them identical at first but now realised that was not the case, they just looked similar), it helped that they were dressed different as well.

Merlyn was the quieter one, Tina said: “ in a way, I envy those three, born and bred here, this is where they have always belonged, bought up differently as far as those three are concerned their Dorenganza, the Dorenganza are their people, not the Time Lords”.

Fitz said, “they claim that they are yours and Salmarian’s companions”.

Tina said “I claimed the boys as my companion’s ages ago and Crysta has been Sal’s companion for years. Their Jedaini Master, Casamir, has promised them to me fully once they have completed their training and become full Knights, but, he has never stopped me from borrowing them both, and I often do. When I suggested taking them to Arcanum with me, he fully agreed their senior Apprentices he told me, trust them to be able to look after themselves”.

“Oh,” said Fitz.

Tina said, “we’re friends, we always have been, and when the time comes I gain two fully trained Jedaini Knights, practically the perfect companions, able to look after themselves as well as me if need be, resourceful, and Merlyn can even fly my TARDIS we both come out on top”.

Fitz said, “quite so”.

Tina said “why don’t you get to know them more? Ok, your technically quite a few years older than they, but they are actually probably older than you are you know, almost 96 which is probably why they don’t seem 18 not to mention they are Jedaini”.

Fitz said, “I noticed”.

She also gave him a sly wink and added: “oh yeah, Crysta reckons your kinda cute”.

Fitz looked at the girl, he hadn’t taken a lot of notice of her she only looked 16 or 17, but, she was also pretty with blonde hair and Aqua eyes, clad in jeans and a tee-shirt, Fitz also noted that she also had a nicely ripening figure, under those clothes, but, at only 16 or 17 she was way too young for him.

Tina said, “she gonna be a beauty when she matures, she’s a good sensible kid though, and Sal is very fond of her, I think he sees her like a daughter”.

Fitz nodded “uh huh, is she also a Time Lord?”

Tina nodded “ all three of them are, their all half Gallifreyan, it’s just that they were all born and bred here so they see themselves as such, which is fair enough Sal, and I feel, but it is also our duty to teach them how to use their powers they have as one for  
their own safety. It is a hefty load to bear if you don’t fully understand it. They don’t, they need to learn what the other half of their blood entails” she continued “they are Dorenganzan. They always will be, and the Dorenganza are probably the most powerful  
race in the universe, they have powers that match the Time Lords, maybe more, it is a heavy load to carry”.

Fitz nodded “yeah” as another explosion rocked the tower. 

“This really isn’t gonna last much longer” Tina remmarked “surprised it’s lasted this long”.


	14. Arcanum-Post Attack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Action packed Chapter!  
> The Crew are rescued by Justice League Australia (ok so I like superheroes, and this is my little fan nod to them I invented my own, Superman and Wonder Woman archetypes), the Doctor and Fitz learn some more interesting facts about the strange new universe they have ended up in but the Doctor remains sceptical.  
> The twins prove to the Superheroes that Jedaini are just as good (much to their chagrin) and are as willing to take the same risks.  
> Tina and Salmarian both get their own back!  
> Enjoy!

Suddenly there was a flash, several figures appeared in the light, and Fitz almost fell off his chair with what he saw in that light.  
  
A tall, well-built man in his late 30’s or so clad in what appeared to be a classic superhero suit complete with cape, a woman in a halter top with a short skirt and a striking figure.   
  
Another man and woman dressed like classic superheroes and a reptiloid all stood there.  
  
“ _Great_!” Tina murmured behind them “ _Supers_!”

The man in the lead walked forward, he was dressed, well a little like **_Superman_**! Fitz noticed.  
  
Merlyn looked up “what?”  
  
The man said, “I am Captain Chris Wilkins from the **_Andromeda_** ; you sent out an **S.O.S,** and I can see why; need a hand?” Fitz noticed that _unlike_ Superman, he also had an Australian accent and wore glasses.   
  
“ ** _You’re_ **the Captain that answered us?” Salmarian asked “ ** _J.L.AU_**?”  
  
“ ** _Andromeda’s_** our ship we were out scouting the universe when we heard that the war had been going out here as well and has been for quite some time, we came to see if we can help”.  
  
Salmarian said, “uh thanks I guess, we didn’t realise it was **_JLAU_** ”.  
  
Chris looked out of the window” looks like we didn’t arrive a moment too soon, my second in command has sent your message to Earth, they are sending ships here as we speak, but it’s a day or so before they arrive. However, the Jedaini temple on Saris is  
sending some of their own and some ships as well, they’ll be here in less than 12 hours, that will give us some time to start getting things and people organised in case we have to Evacuate the planet, my ship can carry some people and is currently in orbit.  
Also, the Independent ship **_Xanadu_** is on its way” he paused and continued “ there are about 11 million people on Arcanum, it is possible to get everyone off-planet within a couple of days if that proves necessary, Saris 4,2 and 3 have agreed to take and shelter any refugees and so have several other colony worlds and planets all within this system and easy to reach. My ship, the Jedaini and the **_Xanadu_** have agreed to maintain a presence in this system to take out any enemy we can. The Jedaini have spoken to the government of this world, and they are currently in the process of setting up marshalling points for refugees if it deems necessary, within a couple of days we can have everyone off this planet.”  
  


“Uh, thanks,” said Salmarian.  
  
Chris then turned to the Commander of the tower and asked: “how many of your people are still alive?”  
  
“I’m not sure, many got killed when the ship blew, and the others evacuated”.   
  
“Ok,” said Chris “we should probably leave now, this building is structurally unsound”.   
  
“Ok,” said Salmarian.

“We will remain to help you regain control, but we should probably leave now,” he said.

They left the Command tower which shook as they walked down the stairs, the lifts weren’t working anymore and exited the building outside the place was in a shambles, they could all see the vast cracks running up the length of the tower although;  
the invaders seemed to have moved away.  
  


The Doctor came over to Tina “who **_are_** these people?” he asked.   
  
“JLAU,” said Salmarian.   
  
“ _The Justice League of America_?” Fitz asked astounded.   
  
“Well, actually _**Justice League Australasia**_ ” Tina said, “their Supers”.   
  
“ _Supers_? You mean _Mutants_?” Fitz asked, remembering what Rast and Merlyn had told him.  
  
“More or less,” Tina said, “people born with quirky superpowers or characteristics”.  
  
“Like _having_ two hearts?” Fitz asked.   
  
“Yes,” Tina said, “ _exactly_ like that”.  
  
The Doctor looked sceptical “ ** _superheroes_**?” he asked.  
  
“Yes,” Tina said, “exactly that”.  
  
Fitz said “Geez” he looked at the Time Lords” how come you **_aren’t_ **considered supers?”  
  
Sal said ‘our powers aren’t ‘ _Super_ ’ enough. Also, we aren’t human.”  
  
Tina sighed “Supers get all the credit, they get all the glory for been ‘ _Superheroes_ _’_ when the Jedaini are usually the more heroic and any of us Time Lords can beat **most** of them hands down!”  
  
The Doctor still looked sceptical but chose not to comment and indicated the Reptiloid “ _he’s_ not human”.   
  
“That’s Super Anka, Defender of Peace and Justice and the hero of millions of children” Merlyn supplied.  
  
“OK,” said Fitz sounding a little confused.  
  
“He’s a Dinosaur,” Rastalin said.  
  
“He **_is_**?” the Doctor asked, sounding fascinated.  
  
“Uh, huh,” said Merlyn.   
  
“So, on your Earth, the dinosaurs _didn’t_ die out? That’s _extraordinary_!” the Doctor said.  
  
“Not all of them no, those that survived evolved and became Saurian,” Merlyn said “their considered ‘ _Elder Race_ ’ the Ice Age didn’t kill them all, the ones that survived, adapted, evolved and became more intelligent” he indicated ‘ _Super Anka_ ’ “some of them  
even developed ‘ _supe_ _r_ ’ powers”.  
  
“Actually according to the Mythology, the Original ‘ _Supa Anka’_ developed his mutant powers from been exposed to radiation during WW2” Rast supplied, he was a fan of ‘ _Super Anka_ ’ comics “it has been passed through the generations”.   
  
“Arh’ said the Doctor.   
  
“ _Hay_! _**I’m**_ a fan!” Rastalin said, defending himself “so’s Merlyn!”  
  
The Doctor said “ _Rastalin_? Where did you get that name? Seeing your real name is _Tilanthalas_?”  
  
“Yeah,” said Rast “I prefer Rastalin though, and everyone calls me Rastalin, save Master Casamir, Xanaduens tend to choose names that suit them better, I chose Rastalin”.   
  
“What’s its origins?”  
  
“Raistlin Majere, out of Dragonlance, he’s this mage in the books which was an antihero. I thought the name was good, and it suited me better, seeing I have a darker side, something I have always known I’ve had, and it has caused much dismay amongst the  
order. Their afraid I will turn to the dark side or something, much like Anakin Skywalker aka Darth Vader did in ‘ _Star Battles’_ , but I know that is definitely not likely, but, I have always had that streak in me. I liked the character Raistlin Majere, he was someone  
I felt I could relate too, so I began to call myself Rastalin, Merlyn got his name because he’s always been good at fixing stuff and tinkering and the like, much like you Doctor”.  
  
“Oh,” said the Doctor, thinking of his _darker side_ ’ you do **_realise_** that darker side is probably your Time Lord blood”.  
  
Tina said, “it is Doctor, Rast’s Dorenganza side is as light as Merlyn’s, Rast it is not evil you have in you, you know, it is just your Time Lord blood we all have a darker side, some of us more than others”.  
  
Rast nodded “I know that it’s not evil. It’s just that I tend to be more prone to darker emotions and Moods than Quin is, anyone who knows me well enough, knows I am not evil, I just have a somewhat darker side, we are taught not to ignore our darker  
emotions but not to let them rule us, that leads to evil. I don’t let them rule me”.   
  
“It’s your Time Lord blood,” Sal said, “that’s your darker side”.  
  
Chris came over and said, ‘stick with us will you, the area is dangerous”.   
  
“As if we _need_ Protection!” Rastalin muttered, “I’m a _Senior Jedaini Apprentice_ if he _fails_ to notice!”  
  
“You know that is the problem with Supers,” Tina said to Fitz “they take all the glory for everything! When it is people like you and me who do all the work!”  
  
Fitz said ‘you’re a Time Lord your hardly ordinary _I’m_ the only ordinary person here now. The Doctor he’s the ‘ _Super_ ’ as you call it”.  
  
Tina chuckled “ _Hmm_ yes, but you know Fitz I bet Salmarian won’t even get _mentioned_ when this gets out, the Supers will get all the glory. The media will change it, paste the Supers in the starring role because that is what the public wants, heroes who are   
larger than life, the heroes who saved Arcanum. How the Supers _just_ happened to be there at the right time, not the fact that some ordinary Engineer managed to get the knowledge out that we were being attacked and it was the **_Andromeda_** which happened  
to answer that call. The Jedaini might get a mention, but ‘ _Superman_ ’ will be the star.”  
  
“ _Superman_?”  
  
“That’s what Chris calls himself” she shrugged “ he’s not from Krypton of course, but his powers are similar to Superman of the comics, super strength, x-ray vision, the ability to fly that sort of thing and no Kryptonite doesn’t exist, well not like it does in the  
comics that is. Chris isn’t weakened by it or vulnerable, he’s the _real_ Man of Steel”.   
  
“So’s he like bulletproof and all that?”  
  
“Uh, huh,” said Tina “although he does need the glasses”.   
  
“Oh”.  
  
Tina continued “the supers, unlike the comics, are _real_ people, but unfortunately they still get all the glory whereas people like you and I are ignored”.  
  
Fitz said, “The Doctor can do anything”.  
  
Tina chuckled “ _most_ Time Lords can give the Supers a run for their money, we mightn’t have their superpowers, and we mightn’t look impressive, but we’re tough! But any of us can beat them easily for knowledge and experience”.  
  
Fitz said, “I still can’t believe you’re a Time Lady”.  
  
Tina said, “believe it, I’m a daughter of Gallifrey alright!”  
  
Fitz said, ‘you’re like no other _Time Lady_ I’ve ever met!”  
  
Tina said, “so you say”.   
  
“Stay still,” Chris said, “Stay here”.   
  
“Why?” Tina asked.   
  
“Just stay,” he said.  
  
“That pillar is about to come down,” Merlyn said to Rastalin as ‘ _Superman_ ’. ‘ _Wonda Woman’_ and Super Anka ran towards it.  
  
Merlyn said to Rast “think we can lift that?”  
  
“Easily,” said Rast, taking his twin's hand and linking up as Casamir had taught them, in a few years they would be able to lift it themselves, but right now it would take them both.  
  
Reaching out with The Way the twins lifted the pillar between them and moved it across to where it lay safely on the ground the building it had belonged to had been damaged badly and on fire, but, the twins could sense no one inside, clearly, they had all   
gotten out.  
  
The three Supers stopped as they realised that the pillar no longer needed moving as it lay safely nearby.  
  
“ _Incoming_!” Merlyn yelled as a walker came over the top of the building “ **Look** **out**!” he yelled, he ducked.  
  
At the same time, Rastalin pulled the Control Centre Commander out of the way, then leapt using the Power Within, igniting his lightsabre as he did so and jumped onto the underbelly of the walker hanging on with one hand.  
  
Chris came running “what’s he doing?” as he caught sight of Rastalin.  
  
Merlyn said “trust him” then without a word, Merlyn leapt up onto the underbelly as well, with his own lightsabre ignited.  
  
Rast holding on nodded and called “you scramble the controls **_I’ll_** destroy the heat ray”.  
  
Merlyn nodded, thinking as one the twins set about their tasks, Merlyn with his interfacing talent, connected to the main computer and using his mind started to scramble the controls.  
  
At the same time, Rast concentrated on the heat ray.  
  
While on Earth the twins had figured out how to disable the heat ray on a walker, it wasn’t _hard,_ just slightly risky, Rast was better at it because Psychometabolics was one of his strengths, a power, Rast used this to full effect in his role as a Jedaini Guardian,  
as Merlyn often commented, Rast _loved_ and thrived in the _physical_ side of been a Jedaini Knight.  
  
He loved being able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, to fly using the Force and to use all the fancy moves that been a Jedaini allowed him to do, like any Jedaini he trusted in his ability to use the Way.  
  
“Are they _**mad**_?” Chris Wilkins said watching the twins on the walker.

“No, not mad,” Tina said with a smirk “just **_Jedaini_.**” Chris had obviously _**failed**_ to notice that the twins were Jedaini.  
  
Chris said “I’m going after them” he flew up to the walker just as it stopped moving, disarmed, and destroyed.   
  
“Look out!!” Merlyn called “ **she’s coming down!”** the walker fell over, the driver dead before it hit the ground, Merlyn and Rastalin did a high four and cheered.  
  
“Way to go Bro!” they both said laughing.  
  
Merlyn said, “ _done_!”  
  
“Who’s ‘ ** _Super_** ’ now?” Rast said.  
  
Chris said “you took a risk boy! **_Don’t_** do that!”  
  
“Oh, come on!” Rastalin said, “We knew we weren’t in much danger!”  
  
“That was _foolhardy_ and _dangerous_!” Chris admonished.  
  
Salmarian came over then and said, “in case you haven’t noticed Chris, Rastalin and Merlyn are Senior Jedaini Apprentices their been **_trained_** for this type of thing!”  
  
“It was still _dangerous_ ,” Chris said.


	15. 22ND JANUARY-2946-ARCANUM CITY-SEVERAL HOURS LATER

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Few hours later after the attack and a late-night natter with the Doctor.  
> Interlude Chapter could skip it if you want.

Fitz looked out of the window of the suite of the Inn that they had been put into with the Doctor; there were no other rooms available at the Inn, as it was crammed with people left homeless by the attacks.  
  
However, he was currently in the twin's room which they were sharing with Crysta, who didn’t seem to mind sharing with her brothers.   
  
“Kinda reminds me of the time the Doctor and I went to England during the Blitz, mind you, I was a baby during WW2 myself, we were treated with some suspicion because of obvious reasons” he remmarked.  
  
“Your name” Rastalin nodded, “German right?”  
  
“Yes, how you guess?” Fitz asked.  
  
Rastalin shrugged “reading and studying the history of wars, I admit it is a hobby of mine, military history has always interested me, don’t get me wrong I don’t like what wars do the world, but I love reading about the strategies involved and the machinery  
used, guess it’s one of the reasons I love the martial side of being a Jedai Knight if I hadn’t been chosen to become a Jedai I probably would have joined the Navy or Army or the Air force or something like that as it is we’re both junior members of Starfleet   
anyway, Jedai if they choose that option get instant acceptance and don’t have to attend Starfleet Academy because Jedai training is considered on par with Starfleet training. As to the Marines, not the bizarre Independent ones just the regular guys the  
bizarre Chapters even **_scare_** me! You say Merlyn and I are part of some kooky religious Order, the weirder chapters of the Space Marines are _worse_!”  
  
“Oh,” Fitz said, “how?”  
  
Rastalin continued “well they see it as a sort of religion to such a point that it becomes an Inquisition of sorts. They believe that they are like the soldiers of the Crusades or something they’re really fanatical. The Jedai I suppose you could say is a religion of  
sorts, but it’s more like a code to live by, more like the Knights of Old, Paladins almost. We aren’t fanatical but just believe in helping where we can, we are a Force for Light I suppose you could say, and you can see the pull we have out here. But we definitely  
aren’t as fanatical as some of the Independent Space Marine Chapters”.  
  
Merlyn turned away from the window and said: “it’s a war alright”.  
  
Fitz turned to him “you sound like your speaking from experience”, the difference between the twins was starting to make itself apparent, Merlyn it seemed was more like the Doctor, the more introspective and thoughtful one and definitely the quieter one,   
Rastalin was more outgoing and not quite so reflective, but it was clear to him that they were both a lot wiser and probably a lot more intelligent than he was.   
  
“We are’ Rastalin said as the building shook “we came from Earth, the War’s hit it hard as well, it’s just going to get bigger though”.  
  
Fitz looked at them both then “that was pretty _awesome_ , though! The way you two moved, and how you took down that walker, that was _amazing_! I mean the Doctor can move when he has too! But you two were amazing!”  
  
“We’re Jedai,” said Merlyn ‘they're stopping the bombing it seems we mightn’t have to evac the planet after all! Well, maybe only some of it”.  
  
Fitz repeated, “it really does remind me of the time the Doctor, and I went to Earth during the Blitz, Anji was with us then”.   
  
“Not fun,” Merlyn said as he regarded the damage.  
  
Fitz said “I still find it hard to believe that you two and your sister are Time Lords though! As well as Tina and Sal, I _thought_ the Doctor....” he didn’t finish, but it was clear what he meant.  
  
“We’re only half,” Merlyn said, “although Tina and Sal reckon we’re the future”.   
  
“Maybe you are,” said Fitz.   
  
“Maybe we are,” repeated Rastalin.   
  
“Hay Merlyn I’ve gotten stuck on that stupid berry quest! How do I get out of it?” Crysta called from the adjoining bedroom, she came out of the room all blonde hair and short nightshirt, she gave Fitz a smile.  
  
‘ _Jailbait Fitzy_ ’ Fitz’s conscience reminded him, ‘ _she’s too young for you Fitzy. Don’t even think about it_ ’!  
  
“With you in a moment Crysta,” Merlyn said he shrugged “I introduced her to Neverwinter Nights”.  
  
“ _What_?”  
  
“It’s a computer game, an MMO,” Merlyn said “probably a bit after your time period, I know they didn’t have a lot of computers in the 1960s and what they did filled rooms and weren’t for personal use, _military history_ is Rastalin’s thing, Technology is _**mine**_ ”,   
he winked and smiled “ Come I’ll show you”.  
  
Fitz nodded and did so and saw what looked like a small computer big enough to carry around in a case, sitting on a desk which Crysta was seated at, on-screen was what looked like a stylised forest road.  
  
“What the....” Fitz asked “sorry I must seem like a _loon_ , Anji was _always_ the technological one, she knew about computers and the like and so does Trix”.  
  
“It’s a laptop computer,” said Merlyn.  
  
“Oh,” said Fitz.  
  
Merlyn said, “the game is _Neverwinter Nights_ , guess we’re kinda got Crysta hooked”.  
  
Crysta said, “yeah _the Professor_ didn’t have stuff like this; he had computers of course but nothing like this”.   
  
“The Professor?”  
  
“ _Salmarian_!” Crysta said “I already said that! I call him the Professor because he kinda reminds me of a slightly absentminded Professor and he’s brilliant and all that”.  
  
“He’s a Time Lord!” said Fitz “of course he’s smart, but so are you lot, a lot smarter than me anyway!”  
  
“Actually I kinda reckon Salmarian looks like Hugh Jackman as Van Helsing with red hair, he even has the Australian accent, and he even dresses somewhat similarly,” Merlyn said Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman were two of Merlyn’s favourite 20th/21st  
century actors.  
  
“He’s good at stuff like that too,” said Crysta ‘the number of monsters we’re taken out over the years, he’s got this whole thing going, like _Angel_ or _Buffy_ , or even _Van Helsing_ , and he taught me as well”.  
  
“I thought you made your life as traders kinda like the crew of _Firefly_ , that ship of yours was definitely a Freighter,” said Merlyn.   
  
“That too,” said Crysta “ and monster hunters, the Professor seems to attract that sort of thing, and he’s good at taking them out as well, we’re done all sorts of stuff like that exorcisms, demon hunting, vampire-slaying, ghostbusting, monster hunting, tomb  
raiding, he is like ‘ _Van Helsing_ ’ although I tend to think of him as more like ‘ _Angel_ ’ and well seeing I’m Dorenganza I kinda see myself as like ‘ _Willow_ ‘or ‘ _Buffy_ ’ or one of the ‘ _Charmed Ones_ ’.  
  
Fitz said, “ _sounds_ familiar”.  
  
Crysta grinned then looking about fourteen “also my powers help”.  
  
“You’re a Adept” Merlyn said, “ sensitive and able to use it but lacking the type of training Rast and I have, your strong in the Way like we are, we all are”.  
  
Crysta shrugged “well whatever it is, it helps, I also have this knack for sensing stuff or finding stuff, and I can understand and talk to animals, and the like, it’s how I survived on EITS, finding stuff for people, it complements the Professors nicely, we’re a   
team the Professor and me”.  
  
“So you can slay vampires?” Rast asked coming in then.   
  
“Uh, huh,” she said.  
  
Rast chuckled then “we have a _baby Buffy_ for a sister!”  
  
Crysta grinned “you betcha!”  
  
“I still reckon Sal looks like Van Helsing with red hair,” Merlyn said.  
  
Fitz said, “I reckon he looks kinda like the Doctor”.  
  
“Their face shape is different, but they are both the same height and build, but their features are different, _you_ look more like the Doctor than Sal does,” said Merlyn.  
  
“Everyone says that,” said Fitz, “a lot of people think I’m the Doctors younger brother”.   
  
“Sal has freckles,” said Rast “the Doctors skin is flawless more or less, he has crow’s feet but so does Sal, Sal is more, I don’t know, worldly”.  
  
“He does kind of look like the Doctor from the back though if you can’t see his hair,” Fitz said, “I thought he was the Doctor at first”.  
  
“Easy enough mistake” came Sal’s Australian accented voice as he knocked and strolled in, he noticed what Crysta was playing “Ah **_NEVERWINTER NIGHTS_** !”  
  
Crysta said, “you know....?”  
  
Sal nodded “yeah fun game bit addictive though like a lot of MMO’s.”  
  
“But you never....” Crysta said.  
  
Sal chuckled “you never _asked_ Little One! The truth is I’ve played it at Conventions and the like. I have a copy somewhere I’m sure, just never got around to putting it on the ship's computer and then came the crash and the rift” he shuddered “ that rift   
reminds me of the Death Zone on Gallifrey _**not**_ fun! I was put there with two of my other selves, which was really freaky since I've only done it once! once by some rogue Time Lord or something wanting to do an experiment at my expense or some damn  
thing! Not fun! _Hmm_ , maybe I should do a mod based on the experience. **_NEVERWINTER NIGHTS_** is fairly easy to mod I can do it with my eyes closed almost, call it the _**GAME OF RASSILLON**_ or something, make the players end up there and not able to get out  
until their completed _all_ the objectives” he smiled apologetically to Fitz “ sorry I’m all _Time Lordish_ again”.  
  
Fitz said “No the Doctor said the same thing happened to him, that he and some of his other selves and several companions all ended up there playing the game of Rassillon, what incarnation are you?” that was something he couldn’t really come out and ask   
the Doctor but with Sal he felt he could.  
  
Sal paused “ _hmm_ let me think” he than nodded “second, Tina’s second, yep that’s it, I’ve only regenerated _once_ , but as I have told you lot not fun! Try and avoid doing so for as long as you _can_! Besides”, he looked down at his current tall, slender redheaded   
form “I like the way I look now besides Tina seems to like it”.  
  
Fitz said “uh yeah” the Doctor didn’t talk too much about stuff like that, but Sal he was different, as was Tina maybe it was because they were both young.   
  
“So which class are you?” Sal asked Crysta.  
  
“Thief” she replied.   
  
“Good choice, Tina’s a Bard,” he said, picking up a brush and starting to unconsciously brush Crysta’s long blonde hair “try to keep those Thief skills up though”.   
  
“I got a Cleric NPC’ said Crysta indicating the Halfling on the screen, letting Sal brush her hair, she liked it when he did that, it made her feel safe and loved, it always had been a kind of ritual between them to the parentless girl having a father figure willing   
to look out for her had meant the world to her, she loved Sal with all her heart (hearts she corrected) even if he still treated her like a little girl at times!  
  
Brushing her hair, making her a hot chocolate with marshmallows, even occasionally reading to her and kissing her goodnight and tucking her in had been their ritual for years one he kept up, one she looked forward to, she’d been about 10 or 11 when he’d  
found her, she felt the love he felt for her as he often said she was the daughter he had never had and always would be.  
  
Sal said, “soon you’ll be old enough to wear your hair in a coronet”.  
  
Crysta winced as he pulled a knot out of her hair and said “uh yeah” he was also so **_ENGLISH_** at times!  
  
Sal said, “you should all get some sleep though soon, it’s been a long day, it is even going to be longer tomorrow, turns out we won’t have to evac the planet, but there is a lot of people out there who are in trouble and need shelter and the like, and medical  
attention”.  
  
Merlyn remembered a night in Penrith in Sydney Australia back on Earth as the building shook around them.  
  
Sal said, “our building won’t topple, but it is shaking the foundations a bit and the roofs damaged, the Jedai are arriving tomorrow as is the _**Xanadu**_ , The Alliance is still a day off though, we have to set up accommodations, and aide stops and the like and  
general repairs and morale-building”.  
  
“Ok,” said Merlyn.  
  
“Ok Prof,” said Crysta.  
  
“I’ll get you all some hot chocolates,” he said, “and oh yeah, Fitz, the Doc was looking for you”.   
  
“Thanks,” he said, leaving the room.  
  
Sal nodded “Merlyn, can I borrow your laptop?”  
  
“Yes, Sal,” said Merlyn.  
  
A few minutes later, Sal dimmed the lights leaving the kids with their hot chocolates and whispering and closed the door behind him.  
  
“All in bed?” Tina asked.  
  
“Yeah but you know Teenagers they’ll be awake for a while” he replied.   
  
“You know they probably don’t need much sleep,” said Tina “their half Time Lord, and the boys are almost fully grown”.  
  
Sal chuckled “don’t I **_know_** it, but even we need to sleep on occasion, just as long as they are quiet”.  
  
Tina said, “yeah, the Doctors down in the lounge”.  
  
They went down to the lounge, which was basically a bar that sold light snacks, coffee and alcohol.  
  
The Doctor looking like he totally belonged in the quasi-Victorian setting sat at one of the tables reading one of the English newspapers, the hotel shipped from Earth for its clientele and had a steaming teapot in front of him and some scones and cream, all  
very English, he looked the epitome of the English gent.  
  
“He’s so _English_!” Sal whispered to Tina, who giggled.  
  
“He even sounds English!” Tina added, “want a beer, Sal?”  
  
“Yep Cascade or Boags if they have it, if not anything else will do as long as it’s beer,” Sal said, joining the Doctor.  
  
Tina came up a few moments later with a bottle of Cascade and a large cappuccino for herself.  
  
The Doctor held up the paper “London is under attack” he remmarked “are you sure we can’t go back to Earth?”  
  
“We could I guess,” Tina said, “but there is a resistance force in London”.  
  
The Doctor indicated a picture “what’s that?”  
  
Tina looked at the picture and gasped slightly it was of a Star-Dragon taking out ships “Star-Dragon” it wasn’t a spectacular picture, but, she recognised the broken horn tip on it “Guardian” she finished.   
  
“Who?” he asked.  
  
“Guardian he is one of the Star-Dragons, he goes by the name Guardian or Kar-Kar Kratoa” Tina explained, “ speaking of which we should probably drop by Nix to see if Kar-Kar Valley is ok, Guardian is still considered the guardian of it even if most think  
that he is just a legend”.  
  
The Doctor looked at the picture ‘that creature must be huge!”  
  
“About 2000 ft long,” Tina said, “their huge they are made out of Star-stuff, much like the Dorenganza themselves, gorgeous though”.   
  
“Who are the Dorenganza?” the Doctor asked.  
  
“The Time Lords of this universe,” Sal said, “that is _who_ they are”.   
  
“ _The most powerful race in the universe_ , although none would believe it of them,” Tina said, “which is why those three halfbreed children are such a deadly combination”.  
  
“ _Hmm_ ,” the Doctor said thoughtfully.  
  
Sal said “ you said you wanted to talk to us” like Tina he was willing to follow the Doctors lead, compared to him, Tina and he, were mere youngsters, by Time Lord standards they both were still quite young, although the Doctor was following their lead as  
well seeing he didn’t know this universe and they did.  
  
The Doctor said, “I am feeling a bit out of my league, I guess I just want the company, the company of some of my people”.  
  
“Oh,” said Sal “that all? Fair enough”.   
  
“Tell me more about this ‘ _KarKar Valley_?” he asked.  
  
Tina said “ _Kar-Kar Valley_ is on Nix, it has a long, convoluted name that got shortened to Nix, kinda like a magical valley, like Narnia or something. Nix itself is pretty much an ordinary Earth colony world but, the valley, arrh now that is another story, it’s  
magical, you don’t find it, it finds you” she shrugged ‘we really should stop by and see if it is safe”.  
  
“Sounds like a plan,” Sal said.  
  
“Some of our friends still live there,” Tina said.  
  
“Yeah,” said Sal as the building shook.  
  
Tina continued “it is a magical valley Doctor, the kind you would only find here. It’s beautiful! We’ll take you there, Guardian probably wants it checked anyway, he’s still the guardian of it and probably still has a house there. However, he seems to have  
settled more or less permanently on Earth these days, and Admiral Durnaa lived there for several years as well and taught at the local high school.”  
  
“ ** _Admiral_** Durnaa?” the Doctor asked, amazed.  
  
“Yeah before he became a God again, we should probably do a flyby and check it, we could probably do that in the Xanadu”.  
  
“Yeah,” said Sal “turns out we mightn’t have to evac the planet after all, but we do need aide, there are a lot of people homeless right now due to the attack, and Xanadu will be here in the morning.”   
  
The Doctor nodded “ _hmm_ ”.   
  
“We’ll ask if it is possible to do a flyby on Nix, check out the valley while we’re at it, Guardian would want that,” she said.  
  
Sal nodded and got cocoa ‘you’ll find Kar-Kar valley intriguing Doctor” he smiled at Tina and added, “some of our friends live there”.   
  
“Friends?”  
  
“Yeah friends, people we met while there, no Time Lords or anything just people, just friends we made, the Pollyjackins and all that”.   
  
“I wonder if the two eldest girls are still at home.” Tina said, ‘and their brother”.  
  
“They're probably all grown up now, it’s been about a century,” Sal said.   
  
“yeah,” Tina said, “ they were in their last couple of years of school when we met them, sometimes I forget how long it has been, they probably won’t even recognise us now, we’re _both_ regenerated since then”.  
  
“They are Elves though so they would still be a young woman,” Sal said, “don’t think they are that much older than Rast and Merlyn”.  
  
Tina nodded “Probably it wasn’t that long before we got separated when we knew them they're probably around 150 now”.  
  
“More or less”.  
  
“How old are you two?’ the Doctor asked.   
  
“I’m 400, Tina is 350, like Tina, I am in my second Incarnation, Tina is too, I’d probably wouldn’t, have regenerated if something hadn’t set the process off and probably nor would have Tina. We’re nowhere near as old as you are”.  
  
“How old am I then?”  
  
“Give or take a century or so about 1000,” Tina said with a grin.  
  
“That _old_?” he asked, amazed, with a frown.   
  
“Middle aged for a Time Lord” Tina said, “you're like in your eighth incarnation”.   
  
Salmarian said, “let’s just drop it, huh?”  
  
“Good idea,” said Tina.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew discuss further options and Tina gets contacted by someone she didn't expect would want to contact her who is as surprised to see the Doctor as Tina is as surprised to see him!
> 
> Also, the Doctor and Fitz get another glimpse of the amazing creatures that are part of this alternate universe that they have both ended up in.

It was about a week later, Tina, the Doctor, Fitz, Salmarian and the three siblings were all in Tina’s quarters having just gotten back from Arcanum, they had managed to get the planet working again and had left a contingent of Jedai, CAW Aide workers and some military presence on Arcanum and had re-joined the XANADU, the twins had reported their findings to Casamir, he’d congratulated them both on a job well done and that they had made it quite clear to him that they could be sent on more solo missions without him.

“You two clearly know what to do when the time comes’ he had said to them “this pleases me, I am proud of you both”.

“We only did what we knew was right,” said Merlyn.

“Yes,” Rast had added then “I mean you would have done the same thing”.

“You conducted yourselves well, and like any Jedaini Knight should, this shows that your training has been well learnt, it says a lot for both me and yourselves, congratulations” he had then hugged them both and dismissed them.

So, they were now in Tina’s quarters all together correlating the data they had found and were now trying to work out where to look next.

Fitz had been both surprised and delighted that he had been included in their tightly knitted group as it still somewhat awed him to be around so many Time Lords, especially ones who accepted him for what he was and who didn’t dismiss him as a ‘mere human’ what surprised him more was how comfortable he felt around them all, the Doctor would never dismiss him, but, it also appeared that neither would Tina or Sal and the three teens didn’t seem to mind him either (Crystal kept making eyes at him).

Although Fitz had a tough time of it to keep his eyes off Tina! He knew that she was out of bounds and Sal must know he noticed her, so must Tina, he wasn’t sure about the Doctor, but man was she a babe!

The Doctor always claimed that _‘all these human emotions_ ’ eluded him but, Tina and Sal seemed to not have any problems with it, the two were clearly very much in love, there was some restraint, Time Lord discipline no doubt, but it was clear the pair were in love, a specific look, a special touch, how Sal sometimes brushed a red curl away from Tina’s face, how Tina would smile and laugh at something only they understood, it amazed Fitz no end, it was a new thing to him to see two Time Lords in a  
relationship that was built on genuine love and fondness for each other.

These two genuinely loved each other, both of them wore their wedding rings and Tina her engagement ring, a beautiful Celtic looking design, it suited her somewhat hippyish style, she tended to wear long flowing dresses or long full skirts. Lacy tops that type of thing, although she also wore jeans or denim.

He had seen Sal in a long coat and floppy hat once as well.

However, Sal tended to favour loose, comfortable shirts, jeans, tee-shirts, and long coats.

He liked his Van Helsing style hats as well, today he was in jeans, sports shirt, and a frock coat, like the Doctors, Tina was also in jeans with a frilly blouse.

Tina looked at the data she had been collecting and said: “now all we need to do is pinpoint the source”.

“This is going to take some analysing,” said Salmarian pulling out a game of Scrabble “but we have been working on it all morning, and my head hurts, let's play some Scrabble for a while”.

Tina chuckled “good idea, say, are you as good at Scrabble now as you were in your last incarnation?”

“Better!” Sal said “Crysta has a time of it playing me” Crysta poked her tongue out at him.

“Uh-uh, “he said, making a shaking motion with his finger.

“ **Professor!** ” she groaned.

He laughed and then said, “I have you know Doctor I’m a former Scrabble champion, I won first prize at CanCon one year, that and in Trivial Pursuit, no one could even come close to me!”

“Of course, they couldn’t!” Fitz said, “you’re a Time Lord! that’s unfair on us poor hummies!”

“Well, I guess that did play a certain part in it” Salmarian confessed, looking slightly sheepish.

Tina said “well, Doh! Yes!”

“CanCon?” the Doctor asked.

“it’s a big gaming convention held in Canberra usually around Australia day, in Australia” Tina supplied “runs all sorts of games, the Xanaduens often go, it’s a great way to spend a weekend relatively cheap”.

“Canberra?” Fitz asked.

“You know, the capital of Australia for many years until they decided Sydney was better for the role in the 23rd century and switched it back, you never been to Australia have you, Fitz?” Tina asked.

“I have,” said the Doctor “I know where you mean”.

Tina said, “yes well that’s where it is, shame we had to miss it this year” she paused “but maybe we can still go to a gaming convention”.

“Where?” Sal asked, setting up the Scrabble board.

Tina went through some mail on her computer “Aha!” she put up a notice on the computer “there’s one on Paradise in about three weeks!”

“Paradise?” the Doctor asked.

“It’s a leisure world, much like most of Saris, not much else actually; it’s a little value for most other resources, so they made it a leisure world, Paracon”.

“What’s it holding?”

“Oh the usual stuff, Warhammer 40k, Warhammer Fantasy, both online and tabletop, Epic, War master, D&D, also both tabletop and online, you know the usual stuff, as well as Board games of all sorts, there’s a huge list, Sea Battles, Ancients, of course, all of them, Role-playing games, tabletop, freeform and Online, Chess, Diplomacy, Magic, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, that sort of thing, I’m surprised the Xanaduens don’t know about it, considering the number of gamers we have onboard”.

“I’m quite good at Chess” the Doctor remarked then.

“No doubt,” Tina said, “never could like it myself though, Sal’s not bad though”.

“Well I used to be,” Sal said, “haven’t played recently, not since regenerating, Crysta found it boring”.

“Yeah,” said Crysta.

“I like it, “Rastalin said, “aren't half bad at it either, if you ever want a game Salmarian or Doctor, Merlyn doesn’t play much either, although he can play, Casamir used it as a teaching aide sometimes, I really like it, so does Master Casamir as well”.

“I’ll remember that,” said the Doctor “Fitz isn’t too bad either”.

They all suddenly heard a beep coming from Tina’s Holocom; everyone had one in their quarters, judging from the audio though it was an outside call though.

“Geez who’d be calling me?” she asked.

“ _Incoming call for you, Tina_ ” X-ANDRA reported, “ _would you like to take it_?”

“Yes,” Tina said.

“ _Caller has identified himself as Professor Xavier of the SIS, the call is originating from Icotorus_ ” X continued.

“Thanks, X,” said Tina looking at Sal and the Doctor “put him through”.

“Xavier?” Merlyn asked, “isn’t he...?”

Tina turned the Holo Projector on and a face formed of a middle aged, somewhat dignified looking gentleman with longish black hair with grey streaks and dark blue eyes, dressed in by what they could see, slightly old fashioned style.

“ _Hello_ ,” he said in a soft Northern English accent “ _are you, Lieutenant Commander Tina_?”

“Yes, that is I” she replied.

“I _am Professor Xavier Asturian or Prof X as the younger members of the team call me; I’m attached to an SIS team based on Icotorus as their Scientific Advisor I think we met briefly while we were on Earth_?”

“We did, I never expected that you would try and contact me though” Tina remarked.

“ _Something told me I should, I don‘t know what it was though, maybe it was just conscience or something, there aren’t that many of us left and maybe that is what it was_ ”.

Fitz looked astounded “you’re another Time Lord?”

Tina nodded “correct Fitz”.

“ _Hmm like recognises like it seems. I’m known as Xavier_ ” Xavier’s image remarked dryly.

Salmarian nodded “hello Xavier, I’m Salmarian, Tina’s husband and also a Time Lord, so what’s your story?”

“ _I was cast adrift in time and space during the Time Wars, something happened, my memories a bit foggy at exactly what! I was trying to find my wife and children again, I think, I have spent too many years attached to one of the weirder chapters of the_  
_Independent Space Marines on Dominion, it was freaky, and I didn’t like it too much, so I left when SIS recruited me. There isn’t many of us left. I’m thinking that maybe we should meet in person and get to know each other and form an alliance and see if there are any more of our people wandering the Universe_ ”.

“Sounds like a promising idea,” Salmarian said, “although I don’t think there are many”.

“ _I think so too, but it wouldn’t hurt to look_ ,” he said.

The Doctor stood up then and asked: “you’re another Time Lord?”

The look that crossed Xavier’s face then spoke louder than words when he spoke again, he sounded awed “ _are you who I think you are_?”

“Am I?” the Doctor asked, “you tell me?”

“It’s him” Tina confirmed.

“ _I never thought! I can’t describe what I am feeling right now, seeing you as you currently are and, in that Incarnation, what are you, doing in this Universe!_ ” Xavier asked the Doctor astounded; he had not expected this!

The Doctor was not sure what to say decided on the truth “I’m a little lost” he confessed.

“ **LOST!** _YOU!?_ ” Xavier said “ _no you’re not lost, not you! I got lost, not you! No, you're here for a reason!_ ”

Tina said, “um he really is lost”.

“ _ **T he DOCTOR! LOST! NO WAY! **_” Xavier said.

“ I am, actually ” the Doctor said “I really don’t know how I got here or how I am going to get back, this isn’t my Universe” he indicated Tina “ it is yours and hers, not mine, me being here might do more harm than good!’ he shrugged “ you three belong here, not I”.

“We’re trying to find a way to get him back” Tina explained.

“I’m not going though until I feel I have done what I can here” the Doctor continued ‘you folks are in the beginnings of war; you are going to need all the help you can get”.

“ _Maybe that is why you are here and, in this incarnation_ ,” Xavier suggested his words seemed to suggest more than what he was saying.

“Maybe so,” he said, “although I don’t quite understand why I am treated with such deference and awe”.

“ _You’re a legend in this universe_!” Xavier replied “ _that is the reason. Welcome to our world, our Universe Doctor and that alone is more reason we should meet_ ”.

“Where do you want to meet?” Tina asked.

“ _I’ve been sent to Paradise with a couple of the team to gather some information, how about we meet there_?”

“Good choice we’re on the way to Paradise,” Tina said.

“ _It takes about two weeks to get there from Icotorus,_ ” he said.

“About Eight, from where we are,” Tina said.

“ _Ok, let me know when you arrive_ ,” he said.

“Ok,” said Tina with a nod than they talked a little more than he signed off.

“Ok, so we’re found another Time Lord” Merlyn remarked after he had signed off.

“Appears so,” said the Doctor.

Tina said, “I knew about Xavier I knew he was connected to SIS I just never expected him to contact me though or that he would want to”.

There was a knock on the door, and Tina opened it, Outside stood a Dorenganza named Lestat, a blonde, blue-eyed Half Elf (well appeared to be) who was a member on the Equals Council he was also one of the few Dorenganzan Dhampir’s to even exist!

Dorenganza were usually pretty immune to that unless it was by choice, or they had been ‘Marked’ there were four of them, Lestat and his wife Elvira and their friend Angelus and the other girl in their group Morticia were ‘Marked’, they were all good friends.

Like most Dorenganza good hearted if Chaotic, they all had souls.

“You got to come to see,” said Lestat then.

“What’s up Lestat?” Tina asked she didn’t know any of their real names as, like a lot of the Dorenganza the twins included, they chose names that suited them.

“The Star-Dragons!” said Elvira “you really got to come to see!”

“Ok,” said Tina “this should be a treat”.

“What’s a Star-Dragon?” Fitz asked.

“You’ll see,” said Merlyn.

They ended up in Starlight’s a few minutes later looking out of the vast viewing windows to a sight not often seen outside the Dorenganza.

Even the Doctor was transfixed in wonder as he watched the two beautiful creatures like he had seen in that blurry photo in the paper, flying around followed by three little ones.

“What are they?” Fitz asked.

“Star-Dragons” Tina replied, “Zininza and Senoran by the looks of it, the little ones are Xander, Xenia and Starsong, their teaching the little ones to fly”.

Fitz and the Doctor both looked in awe and wonder at the two huge (Dragons?) creatures flying around outside the ship, their hides were glittering with all the colours of the universe.

They were covered in fins, wings and sails that changed colour like a hologram, with huge slanted eyes glinting like twin moons, both he and Fitz felt awe and wonder at the sight of the beautiful celestial creatures.

It made the Doctor remember why he travelled, the universe and all its creatures never ceased to amaze him!

“What...?” Fitz asked.

“Their Star-Dragons” Tina replied “some of the Xanaduens are Star-Dragons, their kind of rare actually; the three little ones are only three of the few Dragonets that have been born for centuries! And yes, they are born, not hatched.”

Fitz said “Dragons?”

“Yes, Dragons” Tina confirmed.

“Their amazing!” the Doctor said awed “how many of them are there?”

“About 20 at last count,” said a voice.

The Doctor turned around and saw a tall Half-Elf (which he was learning was the most seen Dorenganza form) male came up holding a coffee; he had long white hair and almost reptilian green eyes.

“Who are you?” the Doctor asked sensing he was more than what he seemed at first, but he had also learnt that was true of most of this amazing alien race!

“My names Vasilion Greenfire” the man replied, “you’re the Doctor, right?”

“Yes,” he replied.

Vas offered out a hand “you don’t know what an honour it is to actually meet you, Sir, to finally meet you in person!” he shrugged “err my daughter and me, well um we’re kind of Big fans”.

The Doctor took the hand and shook it “the pleasure is mine”.

Vas said, “you must be feeling somewhat out of your league though, this not been your universe and all”.

The Doctor nodded “yes” he paused then continued “but all this well, ‘hero worship’ has gotten me a little worried”.

“You're a legend,” said Vas “that is all, a lot of folks admire you around here”.

“Why, though?”

“Because **you’re** the Doctor,” Vas said, turning his attention back to the Star-Dragons.


	17. The Intrepid- A few days later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final Chapter of Journey Part Two- Destination Arcanum. Part Two is now complete.
> 
> This should have been posted originally- as I realised that I hadn't added this one and I should have. It explains how Merlyn ended up on Gallifrey!

“He’s gone!” Rastalin said, sounding shocked as he stared helplessly into the opened engines on the **_INTREPID_** where Merlyn had disappeared with shock and dismay, and feeling nauseated and dizzy.  
  
“Step _away_ from the engines Rast,” said Tina.   
  
“Merlyn’s _gone_!” Rast replied shivering.  
  
Tina pulled Rastalin away gently, feeling him shaking and shut the engine “we may lose you too”.   
  
“But **_Merlyn_**!” Rast said “I know he’s alive, but I don’t know where he is!” he almost fell backwards and waves of dizziness assailed him “what’s happening!!”  
  
Tina said “you’re sensitive to the Time fluctuations Rastalin, it’s a mark of your blood, all Time Lords _are_! And when that opened, it’s worse than usual!”  
  
Sal said, “We all felt it”.  
  
The Doctor came over and said, “Merlyn’s _fallen_ into the vortex!”  
  
“Won’t that kill him or something?” Rastalin asked.   
  
“Possibly,” Tina said “even **we** find it hard to survive unprotected in the vortex! But your race seems to be able to survive anything! I’ve seen you guys survive going through a nuclear bomb!”  
  
Rast said “he’s alive I _know_ it! I _feel_ it! I gotta go in after him!”  
  
“If he’s survived it must mean he is lost in time somewhere, if you go in after him, you may never find him,” Tina said, “and we probably lose you as well”.   
  
“I know he’s alive, I would **_know_** if he wasn’t,” Rastalin said.   
  
“We’ll try to find him Rastalin” the Doctor promised “just not this way! Wherever Merlyn is, he might just have to find his own way back”.  
  
Tina nodded “we’ll try and find him, but diving into the vortex is **_not_** the way to do it Tilanthalas”.  
  
Rast said then, sounding more lost than Tina had ever heard him “ all our life it’s been Merlyn and me, we’ve never been separated for long, I try to protect him, he’s my ‘ _little brother_ ’ gentle Merlyn with his kind soul and gentle heart, crooked and bad  
shoulder and his knack for ‘ _fixing stuff_ ’. I feel so **_lost_** without him, we can function separately well enough, it’s not like we can’t survive without each other, it’s just that we’re stronger _together_ , we’re _twins_! And that bond it cannot be broken. It’s a twin thing”.  
  
Tina said, “I know, it's like been torn apart, isn’t it?”  
  
“Yes,” said Rastalin, his calm, outgoing exterior slipped showing the frightened and upset 18 years old underneath, making Tina remember just how young the twins really were “ I _want_ my _**twin**_ back!”   
  
Tina said, “I can sort of understand, I felt much the same when I thought Salmarian was dead, he’s my Soulmate, it’s like a part of you is missing!”  
  
Rast nodded “please Tina, tell me that Merlyn will come back”.  
  
Sal said, “he’s just gonna have to find his own way back”.  
  
Rast said, “he’s my ** _twin_**!”  
  
Sal said, “that he is Rastalin and he’s also a Time Lord, just like you, if anyone can find his way back it be him”.  
  
Tina felt Rast shuddering, clearly sensitive to the eddies that were flying around; they all were.  
  
She had told Crysta to stay well away, but, it was clear from the girls pinched face, she was feeling it too “I think right now we all should leave and come back when things have calmed down a bit, even Sal, me and the Doctor are feeling the effects” as she  
noticed that the Doctor had leaned up against the railings, and looked ill.   
  
She knew how he felt as she and Sal were also feeling it “ the kids aren’t used to it yet” she turned to the Doctor “Keep Fitz out of here if you can, Doc, we are probably the only ones who are safe in here at the moment”.  
  
“The Xanaduens might be safe in here too for limited periods,” said Salmarian “their Planatars remember?”  
  
“You may be right at that,” said Tina leaving the room, knowing the Xanaduens knack for surviving even the harshest conditions.  
  
“I hope Merlyn finds his way back,” said the Doctor then coughing, but he sounded a little doubtful.   
  
“If anyone can, it’s Merlyn,” said Tina ‘you don’t know the Xanaduens as well as I. The hardest part will be telling Master Casamir what happened to his Apprentice”.   
  
“Oh I didn’t think of that” the Doctor admitted quietly.   
  
“Don’t worry, I’ll do it?” said Tina “Casamir knows me best and the longest”.  
  
_**The Xanadu  
  
**_Once back on Xanadu, Tina, Casamir and Rast were in Tina’s quarters trying to track Merlyn by his time trail.  
  
Casamir asked doubtfully “are you **_sure_** Quinawah even has a time trail?”  
  
“Yes,” said Tina “all Time Lords do”.   
  
“Quin and Tilan are only half Time Lord though,” Casamir, reminded her.   
  
“True but they are Time Lord enough,” Tina said, “ Rast, Crysta’s and Merlyn’s two sides are merged so closely it is impossible to separate them, it is almost like your race and mine were meant to be merged, both sides compliment the other, which leads to  
my theory that your race is the Time Lords of this universe”.  
  
Casamir mused this over that said, “but all their abilities are characteristic of my race, they are distinctly Dorenganza and then there is their skill with the Force”.   
  
“They are children of this universe,” Tina said, “they get their Dorenganza powers from their Dorenganza blood, and they were born here, so they are attuned to this universe, but they are also Time Lords and Merlyn does have a time trail, which like him is probably unique”.  
  
Casamir nodded “ok just find my Apprentice and my son” like Rast he knew Merlyn was alive, his force link with the two Apprentices he had as their Jedai Master told him that much.   
  
Masters and Apprentices had a close link as it was a requirement of their training that they do so, they couldn’t be fully trained otherwise if they didn’t, it was one of the first things forged between Master and Apprentice, also Rast, who like Merlyn, had an  
unerring knack to tell whether his twin was in danger had said that Merlyn was alive and not in any immediate danger, which probably came from being a twin.  
  
“So we can track Merlyn using this Time Trail?” Casamir asked.   
  
“It’s how the Time Lords do it,” Tina said “here I’ll show you what I mean” she turned her computer on and said “this is something I invented; it tracks the trails of any Time Lord in this universe. I have got all known Time Lords in this area on record” she  
indicated the screen “that’s mine, that’s Salmarian, the big clear one is the Doctors, he’s never been here before, so his trail is nice and strong, that’s Crysta, notice how it is linked to Salmarian’s. Those two are Rast and Merlyn”.  
  
“I see,” said Casamir “I see uses for this though, maybe we could alter it somehow to track Jedai or Dorenganza as well, we’re kinda elusive and hard to track ourselves”.  
  
“Who’s the other trails?” Rast asked.  
  
“I’m assuming that one is Xavier’s, the others I don’t know, but it shows we _aren’t_ the only Time Lords here, and that one is Fitz’s,” she said indicating one that was different.   
  
“ _Fitz_?” Rastalin asked, “but he’s _human_ and no Time Lord”.   
  
“He’s been hanging around the Doctor so long, he’s sort of gained one,” Tina said with a smile.   
  
“So who are the others?” Cas asked.   
  
“Well one’s gotta be Xavier,” Tina said, “but that is all I can say”.  
  
Casamir nodded “just find me **_Merlyn_**!”  
  
“I’ll try,” said Tina.  
  
“Good,” said Casamir.  
  
Tina said, “I didn’t mean for Merlyn to fall into the Time Vortex, I mean he has worked on engines with me for years now”.  
  
Casamir’s serious expression softened, and he put a hand on Tina’s shoulder “don’t blame yourself, Tina; I know you would never hurt Merlyn. Merlyn is young, Dorenganza, and therefore a little impetuous at times, er that’s a characteristic of our race. No matter how much discipline training we get, you can’t take that out of us it is **_who_** we are! And it was an accident, we’ll get him back just try and find him. It is not your fault”.  
  
Tina said, “I’m sorry, Casamir”.   
  
“Don’t be, just _find_ him,” Casamir said he walked out and met Chris Wilkins out in the corridor, the ‘ _Supers_ ’ ship had been badly damaged above Arcanum during the attack and **_Xanadu_** had offered to tow the ship to Paradise so it could be repaired.  
  
In exchange, the ‘ _Supers_ ’ had agreed to help the Xanaduens in their search for help. Also, a ship of Jedai had decided to join them.  
  
They were a small fleet of four now, plus the _**INTREPID**_ , as they had also been joined by an Arcanum mini battle cruiser, as Captain Senoran had said the Scorpionoids and the T’ron would pause before taking them on.  
  
Chris said, “Hi Captain Senoran said he wanted a meeting in the War-Room at 19.00, he wants the Jedai there and the Time Lords.”  
  
“All of us?” Casamir asked.   
  
“Yes”.   
  
“There isn’t that much Jedai on board at the moment as most are out scouting and my Apprentice Merlyn has gone missing, but we’ll come”.  
  
“Good,” said Chris, turning to walk away, Chris, unlike his comic book namesake, was a real person.   
  
Casamir had grown to like him, he knew that if push came to shove, he could easily match Chris in his power he had as a Jedai Master. By his sheer age difference, most of the people he met knew him as Casamir Ongaldan, Leader of the Equals, not many people had seen him wielding the powers he had as _Master Casamir Ongaldan_ , Jedaini Grand Master!  
  
“We’ll be there,” said Casamir.


End file.
